Still in my Fluffoughts
by PikoHero
Summary: Kiku Honda has been invited to a awe-inspiring banquet in the UK dedicated to World Peace- ARPK. After being stubborn and reluctant, his friends finally convince him to leave his home in Japan, encouraging him to find someone in his life. He meets a rather gentlemanly Englishman and reunites with a boy-next door American cutie- both of whom are willing to win Kiku's isolated heart.
1. Ch1 Invitation and a Hero

**Still in my Fluffoughts**

_Kiku Honda was just another hardworking, stubborn and lonely young man of Japan with geeky interests, slaving in his job to be able to support himself. But one day, his more successful and concerned western friends give him an invitation to a upperclass and fancy ball across the seas! Will this lonely, content, shy and stubborn young man ever find love...? Human AU / Love Triangle_

**Hello, Piko here!**  
**I'm so nervous... this is my first fanfiction ever. I'm more of an artist than a writer. I'm better at showing a story than telling one. But even so, i hope you like this! I love Asakiku (England/Arthur and Japan/Kiku), and it makes me sad that it isnt more popular- I think AmeriPan also is really cute. I'm also a fan of FrUK, but unfortunately it wouldn't go with this story much, considering it's based off a video. I regret nothing.**

**What is this video you ask? I'll tell you later.**

**I hope you enjoy!**

**Oh, and i'm sorry if it looks all weird... uploading a story here is kind of confusing...**

**And i also recently discovered how horrible i am at making sure i use their Human names...**

**Pairing: AsaKiku (it may not seem like it yet, but i guarantee it's 100% AsaKiku. Calorie-free.)**

**Warning: First-time fanfiction. Human AU. Cosplay. Slight sexual harrassment. Contains BoyXBoy. Rating may or may not change in future chapters.**

**I do not own any of the characters, songs, or anything else.**

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_**Chapter 1**_

The days were long and the weather was rather chilly. The beautiful deep green leaves of late summer wilted have changed color to a glistening cornocopia of warm hues. Red, orange, yellow and brown filled

small parks of Japan and the bustling city streets along with the faint smell of rain from earlier that morning. Kiku steps his way across the damp crosswalk, burying a cold left hand into the pocket of his plaid coat and his other hand clutched tightly to his bag containing his workclothes, and some other items and valuables. Another day to the crazy cafe, as usual. Kiku sighs as he steps to the other side onto a busy sidewalk. The cold air clung to his warm breathing, making clouds of steam that ascended to the air and vanished. *Winter is coming faster than usual...* Kiku thought to himself, and continued walking onward. *I don't care what they say. I'll be fine.*

Kiku remembered just yesterday. He was meeting up with his strange western friends at a local resturaunt for lunch. Feliciano Vargas was a charming, flambouyant and rather troublesome Italian. With bright caremel eyes and hair resembling the color of cinnamon, whom always smelled faintly of garlic and freshly baked bread...

Kiku's other friend and Feliciano's boyfriend, Ludwig Beildschmit, was a tall, handsome and strict german with blonde hair piercing blue eyes. Despite being rather cold and intimidating to those who don't know him well, Ludwig was actually a tough, reliable and caring guy. They've been visiting Japan due to Feliciano's job, and Ludwig didn't want Feliciano to travel by himself. (Who would know what trouble he might get into!) Even though he would never say so out loud, Ludwig would feel incredibly lonely without that crazy italian, so decided to take a vacation and tag along with his little flambouyant and cheerful loved one.

_"Kiku~! Ciao!"_

_Other japanese people looked up in alarm at the loud happy voice. Kiku's italian friend greeted him with a large and loving embrace._

_"F-Feli!" Japan pushed the flambouyant man back when a few schoolgirls giggled. "You are invading my personal space..." Though being close friends with several years, he still had a habit of pushing people away who got too close to him. It didn't help that they were in public. In Japan._

_Ludwig followed a few steps behind Feliciano without even a small smile across his face. Serious and intimidating as usual._

_"Ludwig." Kiku bowed foreward towards the tall blonde german, and Ludwig bowed back._

_"Guten Tag. It's good to see you again, Kiku."_

_"Hai, You too." Kiku gives a small, genuine smile. Ludwig gave a small smile back. It wasn't everyday that he was able to see his western friends again. Feliciano was busy working at a fancy italian resturaunt, and Ludwig was the head of a newspaper company here in Japan. They never had enough time to visit Kiku when he had his days off. Kiku was quite lonely during the week, but Feliciano and Ludwig are able to have lunch with him at a local cafe, and Kiku took the chance to meet them and catch up again._

_Feliciano ordered a small plate of alfredo, and Ludwig ordered a plate as well, since the cafe here didn't serve wurst. The three talked about business and money, but then delved deeper to a more personal discussion._

_"Vee, Kiku don't you ever feel lonely?" Feliciano slurped on a fork full of pasta, and swallowed with a worried look on his face. "I mean, all you do is work work work, and never really talk and meet some people except when you're working at that cafe you always talk about!"_

_"Hmph, I'ts not my fault!" The asian man scoffed, "I dont have time to talk to other people... I have to work so i can eat and pay the rent, i cant help it... Besides, I do completely well by myself. Right, Ludwig-san?"_

_Kiku looked at the german man for a nod of agreement, but instead Ludwig gives Kiku a rather worried and serious look. "Well, Kiku..."_

_Kiku sighed in disappointment. "W-what? Don't tell me..."_

_"Kiku, all you do is work day and night and when you get home, you clean- and you look totally exhausted. And when you aren't working or cleaning, you're watching some really depressing romance anime and typing away on the internet. Who wouldn't be worried...?"_

_Kiku jumped and growled, twisting the creamy pasta on his own plate. "N-not true at all!"_

_"Kiku..."_

_Kiku looked at both of the two men's faces. Both of them were concerned, shooting a sad, serious stare. Kiku felt utterly embarrassed, and reminded him of the time when his older chinese brother, Wang Yao, spotted his Hentai collection as a teen. At least he got rid of them..._

_"You need someone, Kiku." Feliciano started. "We worry about you. If you keep going on like this you'll end up a... a shut-in!" Feliciano's face was in a dramatic horror of the words. Kiku, a shut-in! "You need to go to a party, or maybe just go out and talk to people!"_

_"It's about time that you..." Ludwig joined in, looking away and rubbing his nose, "Erm, look for a partner. You're old enough, and there are plenty of guys out there-"_

_"Shhhh... Ludwig-san, not so loud..." Kiku looked around frantically. He still felt nervous and councious about how other people would view his sexual preference. You'd think that Kiku would like girls since he knows so much about japanese idols and watches a lot of anime and TV shows with seductive women, but... ever since he met his western friends, they encouraged him to fully accept the way he was, and he did, partially. He still felt pretty embarrassed over it._

_"Awww, and seriously, Kiku. You're adorable!" Feliciano gave Kiku a light one-armed hug, causing Kiku to blush. "Don't try to flatter me..."_

_"Oh, but it's true! You're cute, smart, hard-working..." Kiku was starting to slowly push Feli away. "Stop it."_

_"You're cute when you're embarrassed, too! Awww, Vee~ cute Kiku~" Feliciano resorted to poking and squishing Kiku's red cheeks._

_"Kiku, here." Ludwig gave him a small, waxed-stamped invitation. On the back is says in elegant cursive in english, "ARPK"_

_Kiku let go of Feliciano and took the envelope. "What is this?" It smelled faintly of roses, and was embroidered with flowers._

_"It's an invitation to a large party Francis is holding along with some of his business partners. It's sort of like a ball. Me and Feliciano already have invitations, and Francis gave me this one to give to you." Ludwig gave Feliciano a glance._

_"I told Luddy that we just HAD to go!" Feliciano brought his hands together, with a dreamy shining look in his eyes. "It's going to have pretty music... nice wine and food, pasta, cute llamas, and lots of men and women in swanky clothes... It'll be fantastic- super fancy and up-scale! Definitely a chance worth taking! And it has pasta!"_

_Music? Wine? Did he say llamas? A lot of people and incredibly upper class..._

_Kiku asked, "Where is it held, exactly?" Surely it wouldnt be too far away. Kiku could find just a decent suit and..._

_"Britain!"_

_And then he could go and maybe pick up some... wait, what?_

_"B-BRITAIN? ENGLAND? THE UK?" Kiku studdered, "How and i supposed to go there? I-I don't have a passport, and I don't have the money..." Completely ridiculous! There's no way he'd ever be able to go to such a place! This isnt Cinderella, or a shoujo manga, or anything fiction! This is real life, not some fairy tale... He has a dog and himself to feed, he has a job he has to manage!_

_"Ah, yes. Francis said he'd be able to cover our trips there. And he said he already paid for your own passport." Ludwig added. Francis was a famous clothes designer- and a super rich one, at that. And to add- super generous to his lovely friends, and his constant changing "lovers"... or what one would call, "one-night stands". Let's just say he didn't have a real relationship since he got his heart broken in High School._

_"Oh..." Kiku muttered. "That's... really nice of him and all, but i have a job to work at, and i cant afford to lose it." Kiku stood, bowed, and left a tip on the table in a rushed and stressed manner. As he reached for his bag, Feliciano clutched his hand and gazed into Kiku's eyes. Light caramel brown met a darker and cooler shade of brown._

_"Vee, please think about it, Kiku! I- no, We all want you to come! Francis, me, Ludwig, Alfred, his brother... i can never remember his name, and everybody else is going to be there! Even YOUR own brother, Yao! We wouldn't have any fun without you there at all. Me and Ludwig worry about you!"_

_Kiku stared into the Italian's caramel eyes. Eventually, what seemed like hours, he sighed. Feli wasn't going to give it up, with his bright eyes..._

_"Fine then. *ehem* I'll think about it, then. I have to go or i'll be late." Kiku gave the two westerners a bow goodbye, pulled on his coat, and turned to stride off towards the cafe entrance, bag in hand. On his way out, he heard:_

_"Vee, Yahoo!" Feliciano lifted his arms in the air in victory. "Hear that, Luddy? He'll think about it, He'll think about it!"_

_"Feliciano, don't get so excited." Ludwig, rubbing his temple, "Neutral answers like that from Kiku always means, 'No'."_

Kiku reached for the envelope in his jacket pocket, and looked at it again. The envelope really is beautiful- nothing but the best from Francis. But ARPK... What does that even mean? Kiku couldn't help but think of "ALPC"... for alpacas. He decided he will open it and read the details after work.

Kiku had a job he'd rather not talk about. At least, not to people who don't know him on a personal level. Only his coworkers, and his brother really know about his job. Kiku walked out of the employee's changing room wearing a short maid outfit.

The apron and the bottom of the skirt stopped a bit passed mid-thigh, and he wore a half bonnet, with cat ears attached, and a pair of fake red glasses. He even had to wear laced underwear underneath along with some incredibly painful black heels. Although he didn't want to, he worked in stuff like this everyday, some less modest than others... but he eventually grew to actually like the costumes he wore a bit. But today is Thursday- Maid Day- all employees, boys and girls, had to dress like this.

Kiku zipped through the tables, taking people's orders very politely, serving drinks, and making sure nobody went too crazy on the karaoke stage. All of the employees and customers knew that Kiku was a guy, but every once in a while there'd be a newcomer who would look at him the wrong way, then be made fun of for mistaking him as a girl. When Kiku first started, not only was he humiliated by the way he had to talk and dress in the cafe, but was astonished by how the customers talked to the employees and the men who mistook his gender.

His first day he scolded an older man and cried throughout the night, but now he just didn't care anymore. Eventually he became popular with the famale customers and some of the homosexual ones too, for his, quote, "Adorable, quiet, innocent and polite manner. And he looks almost like a girl." A male customer once said that Kiku would make a "great wife", but then received a blank stare from Kiku himself then shut up.

A small group of japanese men made their way into the karaoke cosplay cafe, some probably from their early thirties and a bit older. The sound of a person singing in horrible japanese pronunciation filled the room singing "World is Mine". 'Probably American,' Kiku giggled to himself. The men stepped towards the front counter of the cafe and were laughing and whooping quite loudly and Kiku gave them a slight frown, but decided to seat them anyway. He stood in front of the large men, legs and hands in front of him, holding small menus. He bows and tilts his head to the side a bit. It was also required that his actions were cute, too.

"Hello, and welcome. A party of... four? Right this way, meow..." He forced a small smile and allowed the men to follow him.

The four wild men followed incredibly close to Kiku, their shouts quieted and they seemed to murmur to eachother. Kiku guessed that they might be checking him out...

"Oh, um, here, meow." Kiku stood next to a table, and the men took their seats. Before the last man sat down in his chair, he grabbed Kiku's bottom, causing him to jump and whimper. "EEP!"

The men chuckled at Kiku, and he could feel his face fill up with blood and anger. He exhaled and gave them each a menu. _Calm down Kiku... they're customers... this happens all the time..._

"Erm... So, what would you men like to drink tonight, meow?"

Two men ordered a beer, one ordered some sake. "Meow, And what would you like, sir?" Kiku looked down to one of the men. The male looked up and Kiku, one of his eyebrows lifted and he smirked.

"I'm not really in the mood for some alcohol. Is it all right if i have you?" The other men's reactions laughs mixed with a few whistles. Now Kiku was getting pretty nervous. _Just calm down..._

"No. If you don't want any alcohol, may i interest you in some soda, water, juice or milk? ...Meow?" Kiku gave the man a slight glare and mewed almost angrily. He wondered if the man could actually see the irritation and unsteadiness in his eyes.

"...Depends on the milk." The man chuckled. Kiku noticed the smell of alcohol already in the man's breath- he must be a tad drunk already. Him and his friends could have been bar-hopping. Kiku then turned and went his way towards the bar.

"Hm? What's with the face, Kiku?" The bartender asked. It was a girl dressed in an even shorter maid outfit than Kiku, that showed off her shoulders and cleavage. Kiku hated Maid day. He preferred modest cosplay and dresses. This isnt cosplay- this is just lingerie and some sick fetish. But he pushed the thought away and decided to focus on his job.

"Two beers, one sake... and one milk. These beasts over there are disgusting..." Kiku sighed. He rubbed his temples and had a drink of a glass of water the bartender gave him. She gave him a look of comfort.

"Just keep going, Kiku. Just a few more hours."

"Hai..."

Just as he reached the table, the men were gawking at him, with mischeif and lust in their eyes... it was quite intimidating, considering the men were twice the size of Kiku. Kiku walked around the table, delivering each man his drink, and as he was walking around to set the last drink down, the milk, the man with the sake pulled out his foot, causing Kiku to trip and spill the milk on himself and the floor an catching the attention of many onlooking customers.

"Cute panties." The man said. Kiku looked up and covered himself, pulling his skirt down and crossing his legs- face completely red. A few customers chuckled, one of them covering their red face. Kiku wanted to scold them, yell the hell out of them, maybe just walk out... but he didn't want to risk losing his job. He was warned his first day that stuff like this would happen- he had no reason to complain if he already knew. He pulled himself up, grasping the empty glass and fixing his red glasses. He stumbled his way up, bowed down, and apologized to the bastards.

"World Is Mine" ended and a happy blonde man, obviously not japanese, stepped down from the stage- laughing loudly and joyfully. The other customers looked towards him and talked amongst themselves and clapping and whooping for the happy foreigner.

Kiku looked back at the men and they grinned evilly back at him. Kiku growled and turned back to the bar to retreive another glass of milk. But before he could, one hand slapped his ass, and another groped him- causing him to jump around back at one of the men and gasp in horror.

"That's it. Gentlemen, I think that it's best if you four just leave." Kiku frozen up straight, glaring intensely at the four large and slightly drunken men.

"You can't do that, we're customers!" one man shouted, causing all of the customers to look towards Kiku's direction.

"Someone, this little SKANK is refusing service!"

Kiku's head was red, and was absolutely _fuming_. Hate filled his eyes and he slammed the glass down on the table.

"I have the right to refuse service, _sir_, so if you excuse me, _sir_, would you kindly leave the cafe and go be drunk and harrass someone elsewere, _sir_? You are disturbing the other customers and crippling them of their good time."

"I rather damn not!" The man cursed, grasping the young asian's wrist tightly, his grip squeezing tighter and tigher as the seconds pass.

"L-Let go!"

As Kiku thought the man would sprain or break his wrist, his grip loosened as a fist smashed into the drunken man's face, causing him to fall back into his chair. He cupped his nose as blood started dripping swiftly from his nostril, and his face shone bright red. "THE FUCK WAS THAT?"

Kiku looked up to see a tall, young blonde man standing in front of him. It looked like the foreigner who was just singing. He turned around at Kiku, and Kiku noticed that the man had shining blue eyes, framed by thin glasses. He also had dirty golden blonde hair with a small cowlick that didn't settle down. He had broad shoulders, and Kiku could tell he had a little bit of muscle- enough to make his button-down shirt a bit tight on him in the upper arm area. He spoke loudly in english. He was probably American.

"Dude, are you okay?"

"U-Um..." Kiku knew english. He often spoke english with his western friends, since they all had a huge language barrier. "I think so. My wrists kind of hurts..." Kiku blushed a bit. This american was very... handsome. and young. But he also looked incredibly familiar. Where has he seen him before...?

"L-let's get out of here!" the three men stood up and pulled on the fourth man's shirt, but he was too angry to listen to them.

"No fucking way. This white bastard...!" The man stood and attempted to hit the American, but the white man was faster. He ducked and avoided the fists of the other man, and elbowed him- stright into his stomach. The drunk japanese man doubles over, gripping his stomach in pain, and groaned. The three men managed to get a hold of him and book it from the cafe, running as fast as they could.

"Man, done already? Those cowards! That was nothing compared to a Hero!" The American rested his hands on his hips, laughing loud and proudly.

"Uh, thank you, arigato... uh..." Then Kiku and the man met eyes again, and the American flashes an outrageously wide and proud (and handsome) grin. Now he remembers!

"Wait... _Alfred_? Alfred-san!"

"Yo, wassup, Kiku?" Alfred laughed but then stopped suddenly as he looked Kiku up and down. Neko ears. Maid headband. Glasses. Maid outfit. Heels. Kiku. Was that a tail?

"Dude, i didn't know you were into this stuff. I mean, i know how you like anime and all, but..." Alfred flashed a strange, yet satisfied smirk as he scratched his head.

Kiku facepalmed. This couldn't get any worse than now. A person that Kiku hasn't seen in awhile, and wasn't too close to, had to see him like this. Not only does Kiku now look like a complete pussy, but he is wearing some god awful lingerie cosplay. Covered in milk. At a cafe. On Maid Day. And he's a man. And last, Alfred is all about gossip. Kiku'll never hear the end of this...

Finally home- the manager of the cafe thought it was best if Kiku returned home for the rest of the night. He refused, but the manager wouldnt hear anymore, and insisted. Dear god, how cold it was out there at night. Kiku took a quick hot shower and climbed into bed. He didn't want to remember what happened tonight. Kiku though about having a bottle of sake so he could, but decided against it. He didn't feel like having a headache tommorrow on his day off.

Then he remembered. He reached for his jacket that he left on the ground below him, and grasped the invitation in the pocket. He smelled roses and looked over the floral pattern. Oddly, it brought a small smile to his face.

He carefully pulled the envelope open, and slid the invitation out. It was a warm cream color, with elaborate golden borders. He turned it over, and with matching gold lettering, it said:

**_ARPK_**

**_Party hosted by Francis Bonnefoy, Roderich Edelstein_****_, Arthur Kirkland and Mr. Ivan Braginski_**

**_Time: 5 o' clock P.M. ~ 2 o'clock A. M. Date: November 5th_**

**_You have been invited to the ARPK banquet in London, England._**  
**_This is an honorable expression of gratitude for being close aquaintances with Francis Bonnefoy._**  
**_All guests are required to wear traditional or rather old-style wardrobe from the culture of their mother country, Considering all guests are people from around the globe._**  
**_This banquet is filled with lovely dancing, music performed by only the best musicians of the world-_**  
**_Classical ball music replaced by popular modern songs playing later in the evening from several countries._**  
**_Food served from hand-picked talented chefs from around the world; serving only the best dishes for your appetite,_**  
**_And the best alcohol one can find and request._**  
**_Francis Bonnefoy strongly encourages you to come and visit, and converse and socialize with other people from all around the world._**

Kiku also noticed on the bottom of the card that there was elegand handwriting towards the bottom on the card. It was a note from Francis.

**_Dear beloved Kiku,_**

**_Bonjour! I really hope you attend, mon ami. Feli and Ludwig told me how lonely you are. Maybe you can meet some handsome men, oui? I also sent you some fabulous japanese- styled clothes for when you attend. I hope you like it, darling! And don't bother getting a reservation from a hotel, a close friend of mine said it would be completely fine for you and some other friends of ours to stay at his gorgeous English mansion for about a week. I'll make sure you get aquainted with him._**

**_Maybe you get lucky, hmm? If you know what i mean of course!_**

**_Please come. You can't be alone forever!_**

**_You're handsome and generous friend, Francis Bonnefoy. Muah!_**

Kiku frowned at the little drawing of a rose and heart at the bottom corner of the card... So Francis is concerned, too. Kiku placed the note next to his bed, and shut off the lamp. Kiku didn't want to admit it, but he did feel kind of lonely at times. He decided- he's going to go the ARPK banquet- he wasn't going to enjoy it though. He vowed to himself he wouldn't enjoy it- not one bit!

After humming an opening song to himself, Kiku dozed off into a calming, peaceful and quiet sleep.

Kiku faintly remembered dreaming of bows, tophats and alpacas.

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**Hellooo! Did you enjoy it? I hope you did. If you didn't... i truly apologize! ; 7 ;**  
**As i was saying, this story is based of a vocaloid song. "Leave in Summer, Yet you're still in my Fluffoughts".**  
**(See? Now you know where the title comes from, too!)**  
**It contains some of the plot, but not enough to completely spoil everything... i think. (I'm pretty much winging this whole story pffft.)**  
**And i'm sorry that Iggy hasn't appeared, yet! ;;**

**The alpacas don't really have any point to this story... But screw it. THE SONG HAS ALPACAS, ALPACAS ARE CUTE, THEREFORE YOU GET ALPACAS.**  
**Okay? Okay.**

Video (youtube): /watch?v=MG7mLEiHXDI&feature=BFa&list=PLFCD67617A547B2B0  
Video (nicovideo): /watch/sm16827197

Original video (youtube): /watch?v=_cqCa4IM8w8


	2. Chapter 2 Stubborn Brit

**Still in my Fluffoughts**

Kiku Honda was just another hardworking, stubborn and lonely young man of Japan with geeky interests, slaving in his job to be able to support himself. But one day, his more successful and concerned western friends give him an invitation to a upperclass and fancy ball across the seas! Will this lonely, content, shy and stubborn young man ever find love...? Human AU / Love Triangle.

**(I swear, i think i'm obsessed with this song now.)**

**Ah, hello guys! I was indcredibly happy when you all reviewed. It may not be much, but i was AMAZED... but at the same time confused. "Why do you like this? I'm a terrible writer! Is everyone insane? Maybe the world IS going to end!" Hahah. But i have to say, i squealed like a little bietch and flail-gasmed all around my room out of happiness. (When i was supposed to be in bed...)**

**So here ya' go... Chapter 2! I do hope you all enjoy it. *bows* I think i may've improved just a tiny bit. A tiny, tiny bit.**

**Pairing: AsaKiku + Ameripan Love Triangle.**

**Warning: First-time fanfiction. Human AU. Cosplay. Contains BoyXBoy. Rating may or may not change in future chapters.**

**I do not own any of the characters, songs, or anything else. I own nothing, people!**

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_**Chapter 2**_

He stared into his own reflection in the elegant, glistening mirror in his mansion bedroom. He adjusted his black tie and brushed his wheat blonde hair out of his deep forest green eyes.

This party is ridiculous... I could be drinking tea and reading a book.

"_Mon Dieu_, Arthur, where are you?" A familiar flambouyant french accent echoed from the hallway. Just as Arthur was going to respond, he heard a loud thud, and an upset frenchman. "AGH! _Merde!_ Stupid table. Who puts a table in the middle of a hallway anyway? This crazy old brit..."

Arthur sighed irritably to himself as he detached from his reflection to check if the french ditz was causing trouble. Arthur stepped around his large exquisite bed and clean and neat antique desk and drawers out into the hallway, only to give a small chuckle when he caught Francis rubbing his hurt foot.

"Having difficulties, frog?"

"Absolutely not... just banged my foot on your peice of crap furniture!"

"That's not a peice of crap, it's an antique from the Victorian Era..." He continued, an satisfied smirk merges across his face, "The female cashier told me it draws in some of the most _fearsome_ spirits..."

The british man gazes upon the craftily decorated table with incredible awe and majestic appretiation in his dark green eyes. Francis observed the british man's expression. Even though Arthur was incredibly irritating and stubborn, Francis still missed the times when the British bastard was at least a little bit happy, whether it was when he was with him, with _someone else_, or even spending his spare time drinking tea while reading a book surrounded by his beloved old furniture. Francis grinned to himself at the recollection of memories.

"...But anyways," Arthur interrupted, brow lifted with a scowl, "You ready to go yet, or are you not finished working on your hair, goldilocks?"

"Ahh, Always rude and superstitious as always, mmn?" The frenchman chuckled. He carefully set a sleek black beret atop his wavy angel-blonde head. Arthur looked at the french man up and down- head to toe.

Francis Bonnefoy, good friend and former ex-boyfriend, was wearing the beret a bit to the side, along with a thin matching black scarf around his neck, a patterned red and white vest, a white collared shirt undered a black coat, along with matching black shorts, white socks and black boots. Arthur didn't dare say it, but Francis did look really nice. _...For once._

"Oh, What is this? Are you 'checking me out?'" Francis caught Arthur's eyes and gave a smirk and a wink. Arthur just huffed and turned away- crossing his arms and fuming as always.

"Honhonhon, my, you're clothes look good too, I must say." Francis trailed off, gazing upon Arthur's black coat, tie, pants, boots-

"...Even though it looks like your going to a funeral, darling... Oh, But one moment, I have an idea!" Francis sets a black officer cap on top of Arthur's head. He pushed the hairs out of his eyes lightly with his broad fingers, and examined like Arthur did to him.

"Ah, much better! Now you look like a respectable gentleman." Francis pulled his arm around Arthur's shoulder -much to Arhur's disgust- and they proceeded down the stairs and out the large mansion doors, tripping many times on their way, and Arthur scolding Francis how he HAS **ALWAYS** BEEN a respectable gentleman, and Francis had **NO** idea what one was,"_Even if it sat in his lap, slapped him and called him, 'Sweetheart!'_ "

"So who's staying at my mansion again? You never gave me a clear answer, damned frog."

Francis ignored the insult and responded crossing his legs and leaning against the black leather seats of the extravagant limosine. "Just some friends of ours. A few you may have yet to meet."

Arthur sneered at the frenchman. "I thought I asked for a clear answer?", obviously a command.

"Antonio Fernandez Carriedo, Gilbert Beilschmidt..."

"Woah woah! Hey, your idiot friends? I know how much trouble you three cause together!"

"Calm yourself, _cher._ they're only staying for a few days. Antonio and Gil are both getting ready for vacation after the party. Don't ask me where- you know how they are, those carefree delinquents!"

"And you're, what, the responsible and hard working one?" Arthur chuckled. "Hard to believe. I mean c'mon, really."

"I know, i'm always drowned in work! No one ever appreciates or praises me- so unloved!" Francis lifted his hand to his forehead and gave a dramatic look of extreme sorrow.

"...Ehem, But anyways, Where was I? Oh yes, Ludwig, my cute cousin Feli, his brother and my less cute cousin Romano, Alfred..."

Arthur rolled his eyes at the name. _Alfred P. Jones..._ Ever since his friend left him to go back to America after high school, he couldn't quite seem to act the same around that obnoxious loudmouth again. Alfred loved Arthur like a big brother, but Arthur's own feelings were not quite the same kind of love at that period of time. He liked him- maybe even loved him- but when Alfred left so swiftly, without nearly a simple goodbye, Arthur knew somewhere in his heart that Alfred never felt the same way. Arthur eventually got over Alfred, became friends again with Francis, and everything was fine again. The british man came to a conclusion that everything was better when Alfred wasn't around to make his heart accelerate, beating immensely... and then shatter, falling into small, tiny, miniscule little peices whenever Alfred pushed him away. Arthur felt better without him, but lost the ability and motivation to fall in love. He gave up with a patched-up heart, forever isolated and off-limited to whoever dared enter. It was poetic, really. But _Oh_, so very, very true, but Arthur refused to admit it.

"Something on your mind, dear?"

Francis interrupted Arthur's train of thought, looking up at him with a cute grin. Arthur sighed and returned his gaze towards the window. Francis probably knew exactly what he was thinking. It was annoying.

Arthur responded irritably after a moment of silence,"Well? Continue."

"Oh!" Francis hopped in his seat in remembrance. "You remember our dear friend Yao Wang, yes? It's been awhile. But I managed to get him to bring him his younger half-brother, Kiku Honda along."

"Hmm, Kiku? Sounds Japanese. I'm correct, yes?" Arthur pondered to himself, eyes sill glued to the blurred landscape in his tinted window. How did he ever gain such a wide range of friends...?

Francis nodded. "He's a quiet one, but not as quiet as _Matthieu.._." When Francis mentioned Matthew, Alfred's brother's name, he seemed to sigh a bit, swooning. "Kiku's also cute and modest as well. Such a pure heart, non?" He then chuckled to himself, rubbing his stubbled chin.

"Yes, whatever. Agh, so many people... If they break, stain or damage *anything* in my house at all, it's your fault. I didn't know anyone was ever STAYING in my house until you told me a few days ago."

"Well," Francis started, looking up into Arthur's eyes again, this time with a taunting grin, "I just assumed and invited them since I know how lovingly, err... _sociable_ and ..._friendly_ you are to everyone who is graced by your presence."

Francis Bonnefoy, gently rubbing his stinging cheek in pain, and a red-faced Arthur Kirkland exit the shining black limosine upon reaching to a stop at their destination. Visitors and other party members from every ethnic group anyone could think of has gathered into the tall building, or just lounging around the entrance, making themselves at home conversing with other strange races and cultures, eating gourmet hors' de vours and drinking glistening wine...

"Humph! Slap me and abuse me all you want, cher- but you needed this. You can't work for the rest of your life and keep your cold heart closed. You can't be alone forever~!" Arthur caught Francis giving him a pout, and elbowed the ridiculous french.

And to Arthur's dismay, knew Francis was right all along. But he would die a slow death before he would admit it.

...0

Kiku stepped out of the sleek black limo, gazing up curiously at the large building. It was towering several feet over him, and he couldnt help but inhale deeply in awe of the immensity of the place- it smelled like the rose bushes, lush and large surrounding the gate. Many handsome individuals strutted their way into the tall gates, a number of women dressed in dashing and expensive-looking clothing from their mother countries, chuckling and drinking wine in the large patio at the entrance. He saw a group of handsome Arab men stride by, wearing what seemed to be incredibly well made _thawbs_ (1), along with _ghutras_ (2) atop their slightly dark heads.

In this extravagant and high class antmosphere, Kiku couldn't help but remember his hole-in-the-wall apartment adorned with posters and knick-knacks, his cheap . He realized how out-of-place he really was here.

Kiku trailed his gaze to his left to see an incredibly large man, somewhere over six feet with a defined nose, light blonde hair and dark, intimidating violet eyes flashing toward his direction. He wore a long Russian military overcoat, a military officer hat... The one thing he wore that stood out the most was a long, flowing, faded rose-colored scarf he wore around his neck. He flashed Kiku a narrow glace and a slight nod. Kiku knew that the large man was just greeting him, but he couldnt help but feel that this guy was probably the last person he needed to meet- but then again, maybe he got that vibe from the other people who gaped at the russian with fearful eyes who've refused to walk anywhere near him, except for the three lads accompanying him... though they all looked equally scared out of their mind.

As Kiku was about to head towards the gate, away from the towering man, he heard a loud voice call his name. It sounded familiar, and incredibly..._ Oh, what's the best word to describe it?_

"Yo, KIKU! 'Sup Dude, I thought you wouldn't come!"

...Ah, yes. American. Alfred jogged his way towards the Japanese. Kiku could've sworn for a second that Alfred was going in for a large hug, but then retreated his hands to his hips and laughed painfully loud, and Kiku could hear maybe a tad bit of nervousness along with it.

"Hello, Alfred-san." Kiku bowed and watched Alfred do the same. He then looked Alfred up and down- the blonde was wearing an authentic American winter officer's uniform from WWII. The dark jacket highlighted his muscled features, and the dulled colors emphasized his glistening golden blonde hair and sparkling blue eyes. Alfred flashed a wide grin, and Kiku jumped, then continued to stare at Alfred's handsome figure.

Alfred had apparently noticed this, and looked down at his shined shoes. "M-Man, aren't I glad that you came! I swear, I thought I would be stuck here with these snooty upper-class peeps with my brother all night! But Feliciano, Francis and Yao and everyone else is coming, huh? So maybe it wont be too boring after all...I mean, not that you don't..."

Alfred's sentence trailed off to just a quiet stream of nonsense as he looked back up and noticed Kiku's wardrobe. A black and gold japanese gakuran-style military outfit, golden decorative shoulders and dark brown boots. It made Kiku's pale skin glow like the moon and emphasized his raven-black hair framing his just as dark eyes. Alfred studied him, at a loss for words and for a moment thought that Kiku looked almost as if he was a beautiful painting. He shook his head to shoo the thought away. *How dumb...!*

He decided to fill the awkward silence that has cut it's way between them.

"...Yo, Kiku, you look AWESOME by the way! So cool, you should be carrying a sword, too! Like, a um...samurai whatcha'ma'callit... Oh yeah, a katana!"

Kiku chuckled and gave Alfred a small smile. "I really doubt a classy party like this with people around the globe would allow things like swords, guns or anything capable of harming, Alfred-san."

Mental Face-palm. Smooth, Alfred. Very freaking smooth.

"Oh, true, but..."

"DID I HEAR SOMEONE A MOMENT AGO SAY **AWESOME?**!"

A painfully familiar german- excuse me, PRUSSIAN- accent filled the two young men's ears. A tall albino man with glowing red eyes and striking white-blonde hair popped out into vision from behind Alfred. He gave a wide and pompous grin as he stretched his arm around Kiku's shoulders, much to Kiku's embarrassment and reluctance.

"You!" He poked Kiku's pale cheeks, "You're a good friend of my little brother! Honda Kiku, ja? Sir Francis Bonnefoy has summoned you!" He exclaimed, waving an arm into the air. Kiku carefully lifted the Prussian's arm off of his shoulders, backing away a few steps.

He bowed politely. "Gilbert Beilschmidt. It's nice to see you again."

"Yeah, you too! Now let me find my little brother."

Gilbert walked exaggeratedly back to the large building, a small bird chirping, settled in his white hair. Kiku found himself trying to hold back a laugh, seeing Gilbert wearing a fitting lederhosen (3) of all things. He did seem to work it, though. Wait, was he doing a catwalk? *Oh... Oh dear, I cant...*

Alfred seemed to notice also, but didn't even try to hold back. He roared his trademark laugh, making Kiku's ears ring, but also managed to make him chuckle too. Alfred suddenly stopped, once Kiku caught his breath.

"Heh, Kiku?"

"Oh, Hai, Alfred-san?"

Alfred's gave a bright grin, Kiku giving one back. His smile was too contagious. There was a moment of silence as Alfred eyes met Kiku's, like he just wanted to spend just a few moments just to observe them. Though Alfred always looks like he's having a good time, he has a strange look of calm happiness during this moment.

"You should loosen up and laugh more often."

"Um, Cher."

"What, git?"

"Well..." Francis mumbled, "Shouldn't you ease up a bit on your alcohol?"

"Oh..." Arthur set the wine back on the table carefully. "...Sorry."

"No matter. Oooh, see that man over there?" Francis muttered in Arthur's ears, knudging his elbow and pointing to a man lounging by the bar, slowly enjoying a glass of whiskey. "He's cute, hmm?"

"No." Arthur responded with s flat and blunt disinterest, "Whiskey. Must be a douche. And who the hell wears gold chained necklaces anymore?"

Francis sighed, rubbing his temples. "Okay, now you're just being ridiculous. Every man i've pointed out, you disappove of."

"So? I don't like them. People are too easy to read. And besides, they'll all probably end up being one-night stands are an incredible mistake."

Francis was ready to snap back with a clever insult until he saw a few familiar faces enter the large room. One was tall blonde and blue-eyed, the other was short, copper-haired with a serious curled cowlick. Feliciano waved with one hand as he held tightly onto Ludwig's large hands in the other, tearing through the croud.

"Big brother Francis!"

"Little Feli, Lovi!"

Lovino lagged behind the two men glaring at Ludwig, with the Spanish Antonio glued to his hip.

Francis and Feliciano hugged lovingly, complimenting each other on their wardrobes as Ludwig looked curiously around the incredibly large ballroom. Lovino and Feliciano wore Venitian gondola outfits, Ludwig wore just a suit (probably because he refused to wear lederhosen) and Antonio wore an over-the-top spanish bull-fighting costume, though it did look good on him. Arthur smiled and continued taking smaller sips of wine. The party was going splendidly. Nobody fought. Nobody teased. Nobody judged. Cultures danced with one another, robes and dresses, tan and pale skin mixed together. It was truely something beautiful in itself. Arthur sighed in serene bliss. Is this what world peace would be like: People of every color and culture dancing with one another?

"Oh, cher." Francis whispered in Arthur's ears.

"Hmmmmm...?" Arthur hummed.

"Damn, are you drunk?"

"'Course not! Not yet, at least. Okay, maybe just a little bit..."

"Ah, you're not too bad. If you were completely drunk, nobody would understand you. But anyways, aren't you going to converse with some of our guests? Everyone should be here."

"Oh oh oh oh, yes, of course. Only a true gentleman would spend time with his guests." Arthur abandoned his glass to say hello to the group of familiar faces whom have already arrived. Feliciano and Lovino were remnisizing about their childhood as Ludwig and Antonio closely listened- Antonio jumping in at some point to point out how cute (and incredibly stubborn) Lovino was as a child and something about wearing a maid's outfit.

Francis nearly jumped out of his chair at the sight of a certain Canadian. He strutted his way around the table and wrapped his arms around Matthew's waist, giving him a kiss on the cheek. Matthew squeaked and his cheeks burned red, adjusting his glasses. Arthur smiled at Francis's happy, glowing face at he gazed into Matthew's beautiful violet eyes. They looked... happy. So happy where it would make anyone jealous, but not to the point where it was annoying and stupid. It was beautiful. Arthur still felt a pang of uneasiness, seeing how much Matthew looked like Alfred, and the awkward pain settled and deepened even more, like a damp lingering stench of pure regret. Then he realized that if Mattie was here, so was the American Idiot. Arthur found himself probing left and right to see if the stupid bastard was really here, and nervously sipping on wine again.

"Ai ya, where is my little brother?"

Wang Yao stepped his way to the cheerful group, hands at his hips. He was wearing traditional chinese garb- gold dragons spawled all over his silky red shirt, completely covered in detail. It was very colorful and charming, and Artur was a bit suprised to see that his hair wasn't in a ponytail for once. His straight, dark and shining brown hair draped over his shoulders, and he looked... actually, really beautiful. Francis approached him, Matthew at his hip.

"Quoi, Kiku isn't here yet?"

"Um, actually..." Matthew mumbled. He was hard to hear, but he was loud enough for Francis and Yao to hear, and Arthur to eavesdrop.

"I saw him outside earlier, talking to Alfred. They're probably in here now."

Alfred. Arthur shuddered- And much to his surprise, so did Yao.

"What! That stupid American? I'll find him!"

Yao stomped away back towards the center of the room, face red and hate twisted his face. Maybe that's why Yao is alone, too.

No wait, Arthur didn't think that. He's not alone. Not one bit, dammit!

Kiku stepped though the entrance of the magnificent building, Alfred beside him.

"Oh..."

Kiku gazed all around the large room, taking it all in. Large windows gave sight to a beautiful winter sunset, clouds covering everything but the vast horizon. A large chandelier livened the room, bright and cheery along with flickering candles at every tableclothed table with detailed silverwear, porcelain plates, decorative centerpeices and crystal clear wine glasses. A dimmer bar stood at the back with a girly-looking blonde bartender, in an exhilerating conversation with a young man with medium-length brown hair, slightly drunk and looked a little nervous. A skilled band played a jazz song to the left on a large stage, with a dark headed man singing a happy love song. Men and women danced together and side-by-side, some laughing, some talking and some just gazing into each other's eyes. Some were black, some were white, some were asian and some were Hispanic. What the rest of Kiku's breath blow away was seeing Alfred, staring into the croud with just as much awe as him.

Suddenly Alfred grasped Kiku's hand, lifting it up with both hands and gazed his eyes at his own- dark brown, almost black, meeting sparkling and intense blue.

"Kiku," Alfred started pulling Kiku along into the crowd of dancing couples, "Dance with me!"

"Ah- Alfred-san! You do realize that in my country we don't..."

"OH, stop with the modesty stuff and just relax. Please? Just one dance?" Eventually they made their way to the center of the dance floor, people twisting and turning around them to the beat. After staring intensely at Alfred for what seemed like forever, he evetually gave in. There's no way to change his mind...

"Um... Alright, then."

Alfred laughed in joy, resting his hand on Kiku's waist, holding the asian's hand in his larger one.

Kiku jumped at the sudden contact, but managed to push the though away. What really peeved him was that he had to play the wemon's part. He didn't bother saying anything, fearing that he will upset the American, and danced along anyway. Eventually the managed to talk, and then it grew to just stealing glances and chuckling together. Alfred's laugh became soft, quiet, and made Kiku smile so much that he didn't stop. He music was alluring, and Kiku's eyes closed and tightened the grip on the American's hand. Eventually the song ended, and the croud dispersed back to the tables for a break to drink or talk to more friends and new aquaintances.

"Um, Alfred-san..." Kiku mumbled as they were one of the last ones on the floor, blushing as people started to stare at the two young men. "We should probably meet up with the others now."

"Yeah, we should."

Kiku felt a tad bit bad for letting go of Alfred's shoulder, afraid that he'd be upset that they had to stop. But instead, happiness was regained when Alfred have a wide grin of accomplishment stretch across his face.

"Let's go. I'm guessing they're toward the back somewhere."

The music hummed in Arthur's ears, causing him to hum aimlessly along with it. He didn't know a single word to this song, but damn, it sure was catchy. He rested the wine glass back down carefully on the cream tablecloth, making sure he doesn't drink too much too fast. He continued his search of the croud for Alfred. Arthur wasn't sure it he wanted to see the American trip and fall on his face, or walk up to him to ask him to dance. Maybe he just wanted to see him, but what would he do? Would Arthur refrain from talking to him? Would he try to patch up their relationship, try to be friends with Alfred, or insult him the whole time? All of those options seemed ridiculous besides the last one. Insults it is, then, once he shows his stupid damn face. Where the hell is that bloody git?

Just as he asked himself that question, something else entirely erased Alfred out of Arhtur's troubled mind. It lasted just for a few moments. Arthur cought sight of short dark hair and pale skin as bright as the moon, dark shining eyes and a small smile enter his vision. Arthur lost his breath and watched the stranger, dancing to the beat of the music, cheeks a faint rosy red, who wore an almost completely black and gold outfit. They stuck out among the bright colored and patterned cloth dancing and swirling around him and his dance partner. The stranger was shorter and skinnier than their partner. Arthur couldnt tell by the distance if the person was a male or female, but knew that they were asian.

And they were beautiful.

Arthur couldn't make out who their dance partner was, and didn't care; He was incredibly jealous of the man. How did they get someone as beautiful as that to dance with them? Were the two together? What is that beautiful person like? Who are they?

Arthur watched with his eyes glued on the couple, not daring to look away for one moment- Afraid that he might loose them and may never lay eyes on the beautiful stranger again. And much to his relief, the music softened and came to an end, and the surrounding dancers disappeared from the dance floor, leaving the couple completely isolated. The two talked for a moment and eventually let go of each other. _Good._

Arthur's anxiety creeped back and his jaw completely dropped, catching Francis's attention. He asked Arthur if he was all right, but Arthur ignored him, too shocked with what he sees to hear the frenchman.

First, the person and the man looked around for a moment, before heading towards Arthur and the gang's direction, so they knew them. Next, the person Arthur was staring at is a man, and he is probably the most beautiful thing Arthur has ever seen in his life. And last, the man he was dancing with is the last person he expected. Arthur's heart breaker, former best friend, and incredibly handsome Alfred Jones.

Arthur's face burned in anger and jealousy. He didn't know what to do- how to act, what to say, who to greet. Eventually the japanese man and Alfred made their way to the table, greeting those who knew them Arthur heard Feliciano squeal and watched him hug the japanese man. Feliciano knows him? The asian was nervous and jumped at the sudden contact, blushing.

"KIKUUU! YOU CAME!"

"Ah, Feli, please..."

After a moment of staring at the asian, Arthur's mind flash backed to the limosine, when Francis was listing the people who came.

_"You remember our dear friend Yao Wang, yes? It's been awhile. But I managed to get him to bring him his younger half-brother, Kiku Honda along."_

_"He's a quiet one..."_

"Hey, Frog." Arthur tapped Francis's shoulder for a moment to detach his attention from Matthew.

"Hmm? Is there a problem, cher?"

"That's Kiku, yes?"

Arthur pointed to the attractive young man. He was listening to Feliciano and Ludwig talking about something about an accident while cooking pasta, and something about burning wurst.

"Oh, the dark haired one? Oui." Francis looked curiously at Kiku and Arthur, a few times before a dangerous smirk stretched across his lips. Arthur took notice, and quickly responded. A bit too quickly.

"W-w-what, you git?"

"Kiku Honda."

"What about him?"

"You fancy him, no?"

This time Arthur responded slowly. Much too slowly.

"'Course not."

"Ah ha! Go, greet him, woo him, show some l'amour! Be careful though, Yao may get mad!"

"Lemme' go, you git! I dont need to you be my mother!"

"Go on, _cher_, sweetie!"

"**SHUT UP!**"

Arthur stood hesitantly and stepped his way towards Kiku, heart pounding furiously. He tried with all of his strength to swallow the frog in his throat, but no dice. He felt ridiculous, like some small schoolboy. Music started playing. It was his chance. Alfred stood right next to Kiku, but Arthur dared not even to look him in the eye. He was going to Kiku, and Kiku only. Kiku is going to be his.

"Um, hello. Kiku Honda, yes?"

"Y-yes. I'm please to meet you." Kiku bowed politely, his hands in front of him. Kiku observed the man. He was also in an army outfit, and like his, it was also all black. He had messy blonde hair, and brilliant green eyes... not to mention a pair of incredibly impressive eyebrows. He didn't seem to be much older than Kiku, and only a tad bit taller than him, unlike Alfred whom towered over Kiku. He looked very stern and strict at first before taking a breath- he then bowed back, and reached out his hand as he stood straight again, with a smile on his face. He was incredibly handsome.

"Good evening. My name is Arthur Kirkland. I'm one of the hosts of the party. Would you care for a dance?"

"Um... I don't know, I..."

Arthur drew his hand back a bit at Kiku's hesitance, with his grin now a bit saddened. He's going to say no...

Kiku stole a glance towards his friends beside him. Feliciano was smiling happily, and gave Kiku a hopeful look.

_You can't be alone forever._

"...Yes. Yes, let's dance."

* * *

**I swear to god I worked SO hard on this chapter. ; 7 ; I have so much fun writing Alfred. Maybe because we have incredibly similar personalities. I hate it when people make him (or really, any character) OOC, so if you see any of that, TELL ME. I want to get better!**

**Summer is almost here! Just a couple more days of school, and i'm out, dudes! That means, more art and more time to write! Woo hoo!**

"Storymaking 101- if there is a rival character, it helps to make it seem like they are better than the main character in almost every way. It's much more satisfying to surpass someone you never thought you could!"


	3. Chapter 3 Red Wine

**Still in my Fluffoughts**

_Kiku Honda was just another hardworking, stubborn and lonely young man of Japan with geeky interests, slaving in his job to be able to support himself. But one day, his more successful and concerned western friends give him an invitation to a upperclass and fancy ball across the seas! Will this lonely, content, shy and stubborn young man ever find love...? Human AU / Love Triangle._

**Not much to say- I started writing this chapter on my last day of school. Freshman year- done! ; ~ ; I'm sorry it's taken so long to write this chapter. I've been super busy as soon as school ended. I'm sorry if this seems rushed, or dry...**

**Asakiku ftw.**

**Pairing: AsaKiku + Ameripan Love Triangle.**

**Gentleman!England. Otaku!Japan**

**Warning: First-time fanfiction. Human AU. Cosplay. Contains BoyXBoy. Alcohol.**

**...Rating may or may not change in future chapters...**

**Does this really need to be explained? I don't own Hetalia, nor anything else mentioned below.**

* * *

**_Chapter 3_**

_You can't be alone forever._

"...Yes. Yes, let's dance."

Arthur's gaze shot up to the attractive japanese man before him. Yes?

Arthur gave him a kind smile as Kiku gently settles his hand on Arthur's own. Both of their clean white gloves grasped the other, and Arthur couldn't help but blush a little bit at Kiku's petite, gentle and warm hand. Arthur swiftyl glaced at Alfred standing behind the japanese. Alfred gaped at Arthur with a mix of confusion... and is that jealousy? Arthur couldn't help but stick his tongue at him when Kiku wasn't looking. So immature for such a gentleman, but he wanted to bask in this rare glory and triumph, and also bask in the modest beautiful presence of this Kiku Honda.

Kiku's hand trembled in the other man's until they had both made their way on the dance floor. He didnt feel uncomfortable and didn't panic at all when he was dancing with Alfred- so why was he now? What is that Kiku actually knew Alfred, that this Kirkland man was a complete stranger...?

...Or was it that Kiku shivered at his touch, and gulped everytime the young looked at him with those emerald eyes and that cute, million-dollar handsome grin?

_Stop! Stop thinking about that now!_ Kiku mentally screamed at himself, _That's improper! In fact, dancing with two men is improper! What do you think you're doing? _

They stopped on the floor, standing out in the crowd of a cornocopia of pinks, greens, blues, warm and cold hues twisting and turning in tune to the waltz echoing around the two black-clad men. Arthur placed his hand on top of Kiku's, resting the other hand on his shoulder.

"What are you doing?" Kiku asked. _Isn't that the female part? This british man is taller and I had just assumed..._

Arthur looked a bit down to the young man in front of him. He was going to ask why Kiku looked at him in that way, but then remembered- HE asked KIKU to dance. He should be doing the male part. Arthur couldn't help it, he did it unconsiously- He remembered when he was still with Francis, slowly dancing to his hums while dinner was being made, swaying slowly from side to side. He also recalled in high school- He was teaching Alfred how to "_Dance like a gentleman, and not like some pervert wanting to 'get some.'_" He played the woman's part of the waltz, making sure Alfred got used to the responsibility of guiding the woman while dancing. The memory was a pang on his heart like a stone crashing on a window.

Arthur chuckled to himself. "Excuse me." He switched, resting Kiku's hand on top of his, and slowly trailed his other hand from Kiku's thin shoulder to his narrow waste. He grinned to himself when he notice the young man jump and blush a bit at the feeling.

"Do you prefer it like this?"

Kiku nodded, and proceeded dancing with the englishman, thinking deeply. Earlier, it bothered him how Alfred assumed Kiku would play the woman's part, probably "Being the dominant hero", while Kiku didn't mind that Arthur Kirkland took the leading role. It was strange...

"Kirkland-san..." Kiku mumbled.

Arthur felt his heart jump. Hearing Kiku say his name made his feel warm inside- he felt like a pathetic schoolboy again with his crush. It was ridiculous. _Geez, Don't get so giddy, you wanker..._

"Yes, Honda?" He looked down to the man in front of him- taking in his features. He had such beautiful, dark and mysterious eyes with dark lashes framed by his soft raven-black hair, his cheeks were a rosy pink, his lips so soft...

"What do you do for a living?"

"Oh, well..." Arthur replied a moment later, too engrossed in the japanese man's round face. "I design suits and costumes for plays."

Kiku's eyes shone and his mouth curved a bit. "Really? That's lovely..."

"That's not all," Arthur continued, "I also conduct musicals, plays, and write books." He grinned triumphantly.

"That's amazing." Kiku's mouth opened wide. Arthur observed his beautiful smile. He hopes that maybe he would see that smile a little more often.

"And?" Arthur asked, "If you don't mind, what do you do for a living?"

Kiku's heart stopped for a moment. His job? Arthur probably didn't even know that Kiku was living in a cramped apartment, Miku Hatsune and Haruhi Suzumiya posters pinned in awkward angles around his room, manga and fantasy novels littered here and there across the space, anime convention merchandise at any random flat surface, a combination of sketches, works-in-progress, and finished drawings and artworks sprawled over two desks in his room... and the tons of cosplay for his job in his closet. Suddenly it dawned on him- Arthur Kirkland. The name became so incredibly familiar it hurt. Then suddenly...

**_"ARPK_**

**_Party hosted by Francis Bonnefoy, Roderick Hedervary, Arthur Kirkland and Mr. Ivan Braginski."_**

_Arthur Kirkland._

"Oh my god..." Kiku mouthed to himself._ Oh my god, this guy is a millionaire..._

"Kiku?"

Kiku jumped, his full attention back the incredible man he's dancing with.

"Oh. I work at..." Kiku paused, "I work at a cafe." _At least part of that is true._

Arthur gave Kiku a suprised look, "A cafe?" he echoed. Kiku just nodded, trying to avoid the blonde's incredible green eyes.

"That's..."

_Stupid. Lower class. Why am i even dancing with you_? Kiku added in his mind. Wait, why WAS he dancing with him in the first place? There's no possible way that this man could be interested in him, right?

"That's lovely. Maybe I could stop by and have a cup of tea sometime. Kiku's eyes met his again, melting at the sight of Arthur's kind smile. Kiku blushed a bit, chuckling.

"You would stop all the way in Japan just to have tea? Very unlikely."

"Oh, so you actually live in Japan! I thought you would live in America like your brother Yao." Arthur smiled in joy. "I'm going to be conducting a musical in Japan for the winter."

Huh, so he is, so he is... Wait, What? "WOW, YOU ARE?" Kiku's eyes grew wide. What were the chances of that, I mean, really? Did he jump into a realistic-looking anime, or was he really just started going crazy? Maybe he heard that wrong. No way this handsome, rich, kind gentleman just happened to plan a musical in Japan. Kiku fought back the urge to laugh in disbeleif.

Arthur nodded, blushing at the Japanese man's reaction. "Yes. It'll be a rather glorious one. I've have the idea in my head for ages!" _Lies. Lies lies lies. All aboard the lying train. Good evening, Sir- Would you like a side of stupidity to your huge-ass plate of "Lie"?_

Arthur resisted the sudden urge to stop dancing, walk up to a random table and burn his hair off with a candle.

He needed to think of a plot and songs for a musical within a week... Bloody hell... Did all that wine he had earlier get to him? He felt ridiculous at even the thought of proving himself to a man he had just met. Arthur hoped that this Kiku wouldn't be interested i-

"Oh wow, that's amazing! I would love to see it."

Shit... Why did the only person ever interested in his work have to be this beautiful man? Now he actually HAD to magically whip up a musical... or he could lie... But that's not very gentleman-like.

_But you were lying just two moments ago, you idiot!_

"Really?" Arthur laughed. "I would have never known you'd be interested. Francis and Alfred made fun of me for such things, and most normal people don't care much for the performing arts these days, so i'm quite suprised..."

Kiku smiled. He was often made fun because of his interests, too, even though they were about ten-thousand times more embarrassing than Arthur's ever could be. Kiku's smile started fading as he heard the song slowly quiet and stop. Many people, once again, returned to their tables, drinks and friends waiting for them. Arthur noticed this, took his hand from Kiku's waist, bent down, lifted his hat off his head, and, much to Kiku's surprise and embarrassment, gently kissed his gloved hand. "Thank you for the dance."

Kiku practically melted and resisted the urge to drop his jaw. "N...N-No problem?" Kiku could've slapped himself in embarrassment. Arthur just gave him a warm smile, guiding him back to their table of friends, his hand still in Kiku's. They walked slowly- the awkward silence between them was waiting for something to happen. Kiku couldn't stand it, so he decided to break it.

"So, you and Alfred are friends?"

Arthur wanted to bash his face against a wall at the sound of that stupid American's name. Friends? He should have never mentioned him... that wine he had earlier surely did go to his head.

"Well, we know eachother, but uhh... we aren't quite-"

"YO, KIKU!"

Arthur groaned. Speak of the goddamn devil. Alfred suddenly, almost out of nowhere, snatched Kiku from Arthur's grip, leading the Japanese man to the far side of the ballroom towards the bar in the corner, a hand around his waist. "I want to buy you a drink!"

"But Alfred-san... I don't drink, please..." Kiku whined, almost begging, trying to keep in-pace with the million-mile-an-hour american dragging him along.

"Ahhhhh, don't worry, it'll be on my tab!" He winked.

"BUT ALFRED-SAN, THAT ISN'T THE POINT..."

But the America wouldn't hear it. Kiku only sighed, and turned to Arthur's direction to mouth and apology.

The American kidnapper and his japanese victim disappeared in the crowd, heading toward the direction of the bar in the back, leaving a dumbfounded Arthur plop down in his chair, his face red of frustration.

"That... That. Fucking. Git!"

"Calm down, Cher." Francis sighed, patting his friend's shoulder, "Just let it go."

"I just..." Arthur removed the hat from his head, and ran a hand through his blonde hair. "...I hate that goddamned yank..."

Feliciano continued pestering a flushed Ludwig, begging him to dance. Antonio sipped on a small glass of wine, his arm around Lovino's shoulder as him and the smaller Italian gave a look of irritation and slight pity towards the Englishman.

"I know." Francis sighed.

"We _all_ know." Lovino added.

The violet-eyed blonde Canadian sighed with Francis, leaning his head on the other man's shoulder. He apologized for his brother to his boyfriend's angry friend. Arthur just sighed with irritation fading from his face.

...

"One glass of whiskey, and... Hey, what would you like, Kiku?" Alfred looked down at the Japanese man still in his hold, smiling his trademark heroic smile.

"Alfred-san, how many times do i have to tell you that i don't drink...?" Kiku whined. He was glad to be spending so much time with his old American friend, but drinking the last thing he wanted to do...

"But that's not fun!" Alfred complained. "This is a party, can't you loosen up a bit?"

"But Alfred-san, I-"

"Please?" Alfred flashes a small frown and his blue sparkling eyes widened in disappointment. "...Just a little bit won't hurt..."

Kiku could list every wrong thing that could happen if he started drinking- from embarrassing himself to waking up in a stranger's bed- but screw it. He knew Alfred would never give up. _And those puppy dog eyes..._

"...Fine..." He groaned.

Alfred laughed loud (and heroic-ly), making the blonde bartender jump. "Yeah, one whiskey and one glass of wine, please!"

"Like, red or white?" The bartender asked, raising a brow.

Alfred glanced at Kiku, and before the japanese man could answer, Alfred interrupted him, "Red!"

"Totally. One whiskey and a glass of red wine coming up~!" The blonde bartender lifted a well-manicured hand and flipped his medium-leng blonde locks, and winked with his green eyes. He wore a button-up and a vest complete with a pink silk tie, patterned with what looked like cute small alpacas. It was an incredibly strange tie, but it was still cute... Kiku couldn't help but blush.

Before Kiku could even blink, a glass of whiskey slid across the counter, Alfred catching it in his hands. He sat on the barstool, and before Kiku could do the same on the one next to Alfred, he caught Kiku's hand, pulling the japanese towards him. He managed to pull Kiku (shocked by the sudden action) onto his lap, and Alfred wrapped on arm around the small, thin waist.

"A-Alfred-san! This isn't appropriate..."

"_Relaaax_!" Was all the American ever said. Kiku sighed as the Polish bartender came by with Kiku's red wine, winking at him and Alfred before strutting to the other side of the bar to chat with a drunk young man with medium brown hair and green eyes. He looked a little overwhelmed, but calmed whenever the polishman came back to talk to him.

Kiku raised a brow when he noticed a small pink barett with a cute alpaca accessory in the blonde polish locks. Incredibly strange, but still cute. Kiku took a small sip of his glass.

"_Wow._" Alfred giggled, taking a swig of whiskey. Apparently he noticed this, too. "That guy is _flaming (1)._ And those guys are totally hitting on each other over there. Hard."

Kiku looked at the two men chatting endlessly at the end of the bar. He looked around, seeing Antonio and Lovino swaying with each other to the romantic song that has just started. Antonio just gazed into Lovino's eyes, a wide smile spread across his face. Lovino tried to look in every direction besides the dashing Spaniard before him, but when their eyes did meet, he immediatly looked away, a blush and a smile on his face. Feliciano and Ludwig were some ways away from them and Kiku smiled to see them swaying together, eyes closed and smiles on both of their faces. Francis and Matthew were still at the table, murmering and giggling and leaning on each other. Kiku didn't want to say it, but he couldnt help but feel lonely. It was strange, but he evied what they had. They had someone to hold on to... whisper sweet nothings to... to love.

Kiku chuckled, "Lots of affection going on. The two men over there, Antonio-san and Lovino-san, Francis-san and Matthew-san, Ludwig-san and Feli..."

"You and me..." Alfred whispered, causing Kiku to jump and stare at the American he's sitting on, with wide eyes and a blush across his face. He looked away and took a large swig of the white wine, hoping that he didn't hear that. The wine tasted very good, but was incredibly strong, causing the lightweight japanese man cough uncontrollably at the sudden enormous gulp. As he caught his breath, he felt his hand suddenly get warm. He looked down on the bar counter to see the American's large hand over his, his wide, handsome grin unwavering. Kiku looked into Alfred eyes, and vice-versa. It seemed like forever before a woman with a long, flowing green dress stepped on stage, her long brown hair held back by some expensive-looking hairpins. A spotlight landed on her beautiful figure and flashed an award-winning smile, catching everyone's attention. Kiku couldnt help but think that she was incredibly pretty. The once bright and boisterous ballroom hushed as the woman waved.

"Um, ladies and gentleman!" She spoke with a slight hungarian accent. "How are you all doing tonight?"

She was answered by many whoops, claps and whistles. The young polish bartender whistled followed by a: "LIKE, 'SUP, BEAUTIFUUUUL~!"

"Hello, Feliks." She giggled. Many people looked back at Feliks with smiles on their faces. "Now then, we are experiencing some... technical difficulties..."

Feliks shouted from the bar again, "CAN'T FIND YOUR SEXY AUSTRIAN COMPOSER BOYFRIEND?" The drunken man on the other side of the bar chuckled quietly, along with many of the people in the croud.

"Well," She sighed, "You're spot on. Our favorate Austrian celebrity, Roderick is missing, so we have no choice but to start playing the modern music a bit early-", She was interrupted by more whoops, whistles and claps from the audience. "Now now, calm down, you know you love classical music!" She said, almost jokingly as many people laughed and shouted some more. She said her goodbyes, stepping off stage before the whole room got incredibly dim. Older and uninterested party members left the night to their friends, before the REAL party started. And before Kiku and Alfred knew it, The classy ballroom slowly transformed to a rave before their eyes, the ethnic gather-up now an exciting, exhilerating costume party. The chandeliers on the high ceilings redirecting flashing and glowing lights into several different directions, the dancefloor gradually flooding with dancers, dancing closer and closer to one another.

Kiku set down his empty glass, before it was filled up again. The Polish bartender smirked as he set the wine down behind the counter and returned talking to the drunken young man at the far right, flirting more than ever now that the high-up atmosphere isn't holding them back much longer.

"Is that good?" Alfred asked, a happy grin across his face. He leaned his elbow on the counter, the glass of whiskey in his hand. Kiku tried his best not to stare into the other's eyes for too long.

"Um, yes." Kiku took another gulp of wine, only to have his throat burn and his voice sounding husky, almost too breathy than he wanted to sound as he continued. "It's strong, though..."

"You think THAT'S strong?" Alfred laughed, "Then try this." lifting the glass to Kiku's lips.

Kiku gently put his hands over Alfred's hand, pushing it away, "N-no, Alfred. You're going to end up killing me."

"Oh, pleeeease, it's not that bad!" Alfred took a large swig, leaving some left in the sparkling glass. "See?"

It didn't help Kiku's confidence one bit when Alfred flinched as he swallowed.

"C'mon!" He whined, "One sip!"

Kiku sighed irritably as the American. "Fine." He said, "If i die, it's all your fault."

"It's not that bad, i mean, I'm able to drink it!"

Kiku rolled his eyes, giving Alfred an incredible "_That's not saying much coming from you_" look. Seriously, this American can eat anything...

Kiku grasped the glass, staring into the liquid hesitantly. With an audible exhale, he tilted his head back, gulping the liquid down as quickly as he possibly could. Suddenly his throat burned as if it was on fire, coughing like he was choking on tar. Kiku's taste buds went rampant, his face turning incredibly red out of lack-of-breath and embarrassment. He eventually regained his cool, before glaring back at the smiling American.

"You okay?" Alfred asked, still smiling.

"I'm perfectly-" Kiku tried to finish his sentance, but then his vision got dizzy. He forgotten how much of a lightweight he was... "I... I need a moment. E-excuse me..."

Kiku nearly fell out of Alfred's lap, the american standing to help keep the Kiku's balance. "D-Dude, are you okay? I didn't know you couldn't hold your liquor **at all**..."

"No!" Kiku huffed. "N-No, I'm fine now. And i told you that i couu_uulll_..." Kiku's sentance trailed into complete nonsence as he walked on his own down to the right side of the large space, leading into a hallway. He found a familiar "Men's" sign and strolled in, almost tumbling on the door as he stepped into a dim, but immaculate and surprisingly quiet restroom. The tiles were sparkling, the latest hygenic technology set up on the walls, the mirror didn't have one single dirty spot and...

"Oh..."

"_Sheisse_!" (2)

Kiku walked around the corner to see a brown-headed man with glasses and a beauty mark sitting on the counter, within the arms of an incredibly familiar man with light blonde- almost white hair and deep, dark and dazzling red eyes... whom of which also wore lederhosen. The brown-headed man pushed Gilbert off of him, buttoned up his shirt and fixed his tie before stepping back on his feet.

"OH... I..." Kiku stuttered, "I-I AM SO SORRY I DIDN'T MEAN TO INTERRUPT-"

"No, Don't worry." The brown-headed man was incredibly handsome- a high-class air around him, but had a snooty Austrian accent. "This is horribly irresponsible of us anyways. We best be on our way. Isn't that right..." He glared intensly at the albino beside him, "Gilbert?"

"What? You too embarrassed to be around the Awesome Me?" Gilbert snickered. "But anyways... Roddy! This is Kiku!"

The Austrian just scoffed and rolled his eyes at even the thought. He stepped in front of Kiku, bowing at the japanese. "Roderich. Roderick Edelstein." He introduced.

"Oh. Honda Kiku." Kiku politely bowed as much as he could, trying his best from falling.

"Pleasure to see you, Mr. Honda."

"You too, Edelstein-san."

_There is something incredibly off about this,_ Kiku thought. _If only i can remember why..._

Before a second passed, Roderick and Gilbert made their way outside the restroom, leaving Kiku by his lonesome. Kiku did what he came here for, and splashed water over his red face, remembering what he saw when he entered the restroom. Why did he get the feeling that he is forgetting something, and that he probably shouldn't have seen that? Kiku shook the thought away as he dabbed himself with a dry towel, feeling the coolness on his now dry face.

...

"What the hell. WHAT THE BLODDY HELL!" Arthur's teeth grit, pulling down on his gloved tighter, ready to bash in some stupid American face.

Francis whined beside the pissed Englishman, a hand on his shoulder, "Ah, Mon Dieu, Arthur! Calm yourself!"

Arthur crossed his arms, fuming, "How dare he force Kiku to drink that... that... trashy disgusting CRAP! What the bloody hell should i DO? And how DARE he rudely just snatch him away like that!"

"Angleterre, _please_ put the wine glass down before you get too drunk to handle!"

Arthur stopped the glass just in front of his lips. He didn't even notice that he'd been drinking since Alfred suddenly snatched Kiku away from him. He gently set the glass down, teeth still grit and face flushed in embarrassment. He muttered an apology under his breath. Arthur sighed heavily, resting his head on the table.

"What else can he possibly take from me?" He whined.

...

Kiku made his exit from the restroom, his head still a bit dizzy. He really wish he didn't accept the Alfred's offer. But even so, he couldn't help but feel a bit... happy. Is this what it's like to be a little drunk? Kiku heard music start to hum in his ears. It must be late enough for the dance music to start. There wasn't nearly as much people at their tables as there was at the beginning of the ball- nearly all the people were on the dance floor, rocking out the thumping beats that shook even the ground below them. It made Kiku's spirit brighten, and the acohol added to that. He wanted to dance.

It was completely unlike him. He knew he would never do this, but he did anyway. Kiku made his way in the noisy crowd and joined in the movements. His hips swayed, he brushed against a few people, some people may have touched him in some more inappropriate areas, but he didn't care. The incredibly large speakers, dramatically vibrating and thumbing with the beat, sang a song that was in a strange language- strange and alluring. It was hard _not_ to dance to the song, and the people who seemed to be native speakers sang along and danced with even more enthusiasm than the rest- but that's not saying much. everybody jumped and thrusted to the song- and everybody rejoiced and cried in happiness and sadness as it came to an end.

Kiku made his way out of the huddled crowd in a daze- when did he get these shades on him? Where did these beads come from? Oh well. Who cares, right? This is fun.

Suddenly, blonde entered Kiku's vision, and Kiku made his way towards it. Before he knew it, he was standing before the handsome English man he danced with earlier. Arthur, was it? Kiku jumped when the english man raised his head from the table.

Arthur's eyes went wide at the sight before him. It was Kiku, the collar of his wardrobe undone. His face was red, and he had funny 70's-type sunglasses over his eyes, and colorful Mardi Gras beads around his neck. Who the hell brought those? No matter. Kiku was standing RIGHT THERE...

"Um..." Kiku stuttered, "Arthur, yes?" Arthur just nodded, his mouth ajar, his eyes sparkling before the beauty above him. He couldn't be even more happy as he heard Kiku's next sentance.

"Please, Would you like to dance with me?"

Arthur's mouth went dry on him. He couldn't utter a word. He gulped, his heart beating faster and faster. Why is he feeling this way? _Damn it, Arthur, Get a hold of yourself, you git!_

"Oh, uh, Yes." he rose from the chair, "Absolutely. I'd love to."

Before he knew it, Arthur found himself just standing there. He wasn't swaying his hips, he wasn't fist-pumping, he wasn't grinding- he just stood there in the middle of the crowd. Staring at the man before him lose himself in the music. Kiku grasped both of Arthur's hands, causing him to jump and inhale with a wild gasp. Kiku just chuckled and smiled brightly. His breath smelled a bit of alcohol.

"Arthur-san, Why aren't you dancing?" Kiku tilted his head to the side, his hair brushing over his face on one side. So cute...

But as embarrassing as it was, "Um, well... I can't well, dance like...this..." He mumbled, looking around that the people surrounding them.

Kiku pouted, "Come on, It's not hard when you get the hang of it. In fact, let me show you."

Kiku used Arthurs hands in his to make random movements. Before Arthur could even know what they were doing, he found himself swaying along with kiku to the heavy beat that thumped in their eardrums, down to their chests, and throughout their whole body. The bass dropped, and so he. Kiku and Arthur found themselves laughing and occasionally brushing against each other, drinking random shots given to them without a second thought. Arthur's vision started blurring a bit from the wine he was drinking and all of those strange small drinks, but he didn't mind. He was here, dancing with this incredibly handsome man in front of him, having the best time of his life. Another song came on, and people stopped almost simultaneously and started jumping to the beats, while many other individuals started busting strange, yet pretty impressive dance moves. It was a peppier type of song, and a soft, quiet and cute voice replaced the heavy beats of the previous music. Arthur couldn't understand it, but could figure out what the language was.

"Oi, Kiku!" Arthur shouted above the noise, "This song is Japanese. Care to translate?"

Kiku giggled, "Sure."

The two men plopped down at a random table to cool off- both of their faces red from the incredibly large and hot crowd and the excessive amounts of drinks and dancing.

_**The rainy season passes, and into utterly clear skies,**_  
_**I stare, and alone I fluffink **_  
_**I'm sure that by now, you've gone **_  
_**As far from me as these clouds... **_

_**Then I remembered what you once said: **_  
_**'Winter is fine, but summer I hate...'**_

_**Every time you think lovingly of me, you suffer so, **_  
_**And I'm the same **_  
_**An undying feeling, the fear of loss; **_  
_**Such a hedgehog's dilemma! **_  
_**Farewell...**_

_**The scarlet season passes, and serene skies **_  
_**Blow in the chilly winds **_  
_**All along I felt my days with you **_  
_**Could never return; I had resigned to such a fate **_

_**But then you returned, and you said: **_  
_**On chilly nights, you sought company...**_

_**In lonesome, freezing times, we were together, **_  
_**Yes, the same as you **_  
_**Now the second summer draws near; **_  
_**Surely we're only going to repeat our mistake... **_

_**My love for you will go on forever, **_  
_**With all the complications of your warmth **_  
_**I've come to understand your feelings; **_  
_**It's a winter-only love - for on warm nights, you can't sleep...**_

_**Only in lonesome, freezing times were we together, **_  
_**Yes, you were the same **_  
_**Now another year's summer draws near, **_  
_**And we're bound to only repeat our mistake... **_

_**Every time you think lovingly of me, you suffer so, **_  
_**And I'm the same way **_  
_**But still, might someday be **_  
_**A day we can face each other bare? **_  
_**I'm sure it will come...**_

_**ARPK**_

_****_Kiku blushed at the last set of lyrics of the song. Saying them out loud in from of such a handsome man...

Arthur only stared at Kiku with a smile and a sparkle in his eyes. Kiku thought that, for a moment, they sparkled even more than Alfred's.

Kiku felt warmth on his hand. He looked up back into the deep green eyes that were now so close to his.

It may have been because they were drunk, or it could be that maybe even for a little while, they were sick of swimming in both of their empty loneliness. Or maybe, just maybe, they could actually see something in one another.

Kiku's breath stopped as he felt Arthur's soft lips against his. Kiku's heart melted, and his eyes slowly closed shut. Arthur gently bit his lip, and Kiku's jaw dropped ajar. They're tongues moved in the same rhythm, almost dancing with each other. Arthur cupped his hand on the back of Kiku's head, the other hand under his jaw, and they found themselves inching closer with every second. They could both taste the faint wine in each other's mouth, and it was smelled of flowers, tea, wine and... like a forest. There wasn't another scent like it. Their kiss grew stronger and stronger with each second, Kiku's rapid-beating heart couldn't possibly go any faster without passing out or having a heart attack. As Arthur pulled back, Kiku felt himself shudder, and rested his cheek in Arthur's white gloves. They both gazed at one another wide and bright-eyed, not sure of what to say. All they could do was observe one another, captured in each other's appearance as they tried their hardest to catch their breath.

Arthur was the first one to break the stare. He immediately looked down at the ground, his face completely flushed a deep scarlet.

"Um, Pardon me..."

"I-It's alright." Kiku could only murmur.

They both tilted their heads, only to find their eyes meeting again.

Then, almost simultaneously, they laughed joyfully. They were both completely intrigued with one another. Kiku stood, the gold trim of his outfit shining in the neon and flashing lights.

"So, Shall we continue dancing, Arthur-san?"

Arthur sat, and found himself gaping at the beautiful image before him. This Japanese man always seemed to have a way of making him stare like an awestruck idiot. Not that it was particularly a bad thing...

"Sure. Of course."

* * *

**Oh god, how am i able to manage to keep making stuff up? **

**Lucky for you guys, i don't expect for this to end soon. I'm guessing this fic will exceed 8 or so chapters, at least. I'm horrible at short stories and one-shots because i cant think of any SMALL ideas! So i'm screwed when i have to write essays at school! Thank god it's over! XD**

**I'm uploading this at... 2 a.m. so i will be editing it tomorrow... for spelling/grammar mistakes.**

**I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! See you next time!**

**(1) "Flaming" is a term _(mostly i use)_ to describe a guy who is... well, obviously incredibly gay. Some people might not have known or understood this term, so i decided to put this here.**

**(2) "Sheisse!" - I'm not able to but the B- looking symbol here, so this is pretty much how it looks like without it. Sheisse is a curse meaning "Shit!" in German. Oh, Gil...**


	4. Chapter 4 Hung Over

**Still in my Fluffoughts**

_Kiku Honda was just another hardworking, stubborn and lonely young man of Japan with geeky interests, slaving in his job to be able to support himself. But one day, his more successful and concerned western friends give him an invitation to a upperclass and fancy ball across the seas! Will this lonely, content, shy and stubborn young man ever find love...? Human AU / Love Triangle._

**EEEE~ Thank you guys. I'm so glad you all enjoyed the last chapter so much. I'm sorry, i'm not quite used to checking for reviews often- but when i do, i get so giddy and happy! It gets me even more excited to write more! **

**I'm sorry for the slower update. This chapter was kinda hard to write.**

**I hope you guys enjoy!**

**Pairing: AsaKiku + Ameripan Love Triangle.**

**Gentleman!England. Otaku!Japan.**

**Warning: First-time fanfiction. Human AU. Contains BoyXBoy. The Bad Touch Trio. Prussia (Gilbert) Cussing.**

**You have no idea how much i wish i owned even a fraction of Hetalia. If you didn't get that, I dont own Hetalia nor any of it's characters. All i own is the plot in this story, which i've been pulling out of my head most 'f the time**

**...Rating may or may not change in future chapters...**

* * *

_**Chapter 4**_

The night went by like a blur- all Kiku seemed to remember was dancing with two gorgeous men, and drinking wine and not much else. But from what he _did_ remember, he seemed to have a good time. The giddy feeling of being unstoppable and indescribably happy was still lingering around in his heart. However, that quirky and giddy feeling melted away in an instant when he realizes he's now faced with a new problem...

..._Where am I?_

He woke up with the sun on his face, glistening from a bright window, and in clean white bed sheets. Kiku lifted his head, only to find out he had one hell of a headache that pounding through his skull. He observed the unfamiliar surroundings, squinting... Where is he? This isn't his bed. This isn't his room, either. It's much too clean, cold, yet bright. He didn't do what he think he did... Did he? There's no way! I mean, he did get drunk and...

"Ah! Oh my..." He shuddered. He started panicking. He was improper! He had actually... _slept_ with someone? Oh my god, there's nobody next to him, **THEY PROBABLY GOT WHAT THEY HAD WANTED AND RAN FOR IT- INTOLERABLE!**

His breath had started accelerating with his sudden rapid-paced beating heart- until he saw his black suitcase by the corner of his room, with a cute chibi Hello Kitty key chain his brother Yao gave him clinging onto the zipper. Kiku sighed in desperate much-needed relief. Oh... this must be the house he's staying in for... a week, was it?

It still bothered him that he wasn't able to go back in his familiar bed sheets, with a bedside table covered in manga and his cute little dog, Pochi, snoozing without a care at the end of the bed. But he was here in England with his friends inside a stranger's home. It seemed to be extravagant judging by the height of the ceiling, the quality of the furniture and windowsill and the large oil painting hung proudly on the other end of the room bordered by an old, but very well-kept frame.

He thought about going back to bed like his pulsing noggin and his groggy eyes begged him to do, but his curiosity got the best of him. Kiku rose from the silky-white sheets and swung his legs over the side of the mattress. He wasn't in pajamas, _That's good_ he thought. _At least nobody saw me naked._

Instead, he was still clothed in his war uniform from last night, except his gold-and black shirt had been taken off, along with his gloves and boots, leaving him with only his pants, socks and a wife-beater he had on underneath. He sighed in relief, rising and stepping towards his suitcase before skillfully changing and clothing himself into a dark yukata and slippers packed into his suitcase. He left his room to explore this alien household.

...

He stepped outside his room to find himself in a dark hallway, both ends on each side was decorated with a small round window, a small table and a faded floral vase. With nothing else to see here besides doors that probably led to more rooms, Kiku strode slowly to the right towards a set of stairs near the center of this dark corridor. He strode down the steps, his hand sliding on the handle with each step of the way. With each step he made, his surroundings got brighter and brighter and found the stairs to curve to the right, and the wall next to him was adorned with old paintings and photos that looked as if they were dated from the early 1900's, maybe as old as late 1800's.

At soon as he reached the bottom of the staircase, he saw two massive columns that stood on the sides of the entrance way, which were two large and elegant doors, with windows bordering them, letting one see a limited view of the front lawn along with many potted plants. A long deep brown carpet met with the entrance down a wide hall which seemed to be a large entertaining room when Kiku looked around the corner. He gazed upwards, and found a large, breathtakingly beautiful chandelier tower several feet above him. He heard noisy chatter echoing from a short distance- a familiar french accent, followed by a Spanish one, two Italian accents (one cheerful and bright, the other irritated and lower) along with two other German ones ( one loud and teasing, and the other low and stern). Kiku also heard sizzling and smelled the scent of something savory and something sweet being fried, but one particular smell caught his attention- the smell of brewing tea. As he got closer to where he believed to the kitchen would be, the scent of tea faded. He turned and stepped the other way, towards the right passed the front entrance, and the aroma strengthened. Where was it coming from? Kiku decided to move and search for it, feeling like a nice cup of tea about now, until he felt hands creep around him and pull him close.

"Huh?" Kiku turned to find himself in the arms of his bubbly Italian friend.

"Kiku! Good morning! Buon Giorno! I was about to go upstairs and wake you up!"

"Oh, Hello Feli. _Ohayo gozaimasu_, But would you please let g-"

"You were having quite a time last night weren't you?" Feliciano giggled, pulling him around a corner, through an extravagant sitting room that seemed to be surrounded by windows, and into a well-lit kitchen.

Gilbert sat on a bar stool at a kitchen island, rocking back-and-forth in a Rammestein **(1)** t-shirt and a pair of chick-patterned pajama bottoms. However, for some odd reason he had gauze wrapped around his head, holding a pack of ice in place. Antonio and Francis were sitting at the white vintage table passing out silverware and expensive-looking plates. They were wearing matching red silk boxers, shirtless, and listening intensely to a story Gilbert had been telling until Kiku had stepped in. Feliciano and Lovino (Lovino, sitting at one end of the table) were both wearing their wife-beaters and plain boxers, while Ludwig sat at the opposite end of Lovino, drinking a cup of coffee, wearing a robe and reading a book.

Francis grinned at the newcomer, with a wave of his hand. "Oh Kiku, _bonjour_! I thought you'd be out cold all morning like Alfred."

"Oh, Really? What's wrong with Alfred-san?" Kiku questioned.

Feliciano threw Kiku onto a bar stool before going back to pour a bowl of batter onto a frying pan. It took Kiku a minute to notice...Alfred, no, Matthew? It took Kiku a minute to notice the quiet Matthew, who has now started flipping pancakes, at the large gas stove making breakfast. He wore a red Hockey jersey and maple leaf pyjama bottoms. He glanced back at Kiku, opening his mouth and closing, contemplating about something. A quick moment later, he smiled, with a small nervous chuckle.

"Um... Well," Matthew mumbled, "He drank quite a lot last night. He danced around on the counter, passed out and hit his head on the ground hard when he fell out of his bar stool when we DID force him to stop dancing."

Kiku started to ask more, until a loud German accent cut him off.

_"As I was saying_," Gilbert started, chuckling: "So I was hooking up with this sexy-hot Austrian dude. He was pretty and all, but he had a huge stick up his ass. He had this high air about him, like he was better than everybody else and it was fucking annoying as hell." Antonio and Francis both nodded in response, begging him to go on.

Ludwig opened his mouth like he had some kind of realization, but quickly closed it again, shaking his head. He continued drinking his coffee and reading the article before him.

"So I had the most awesome-est idea. I mean, i was super bored, ya'know? And this Prissy Austrian would be fun to loosen up, and show him who _really_ was the top dog, so why not fool around? Plus, he totally digged my sexy lederhosen!" Antonio asked Francis if 'Awesome-est' was even a word, only to receive an immediate hush from the french blonde.

"So we started talking and before I knew it, the little prince, Roderich was his name, was all over me. But of course! I mean, who wouldn't be? Anyways, we started flirting, then touching, then kissing and we proceeded in the restroom. We were getting all hot and i was..."

Gilbert glanced at Kiku for a moment, but swiftly returned his gaze to his two comrades.

"...And i was getting 'ready for action', if you will," Gilbert emphasized the quotated metaphor with his fingers, "Until were interrupted and we had to escape somewhere else. We made our way to the kitchen, passed all of these chefs, and down a quiet maze of kitchen utensils outside of the kitchen. We continued here."

Gilbert's expression morphed from one of sly and perverted pride, to disappointed and irritated.

"We were getting all hot and shit, and started to take our shirts off- he was totally turned on, but never said it. He was being stubborn. As i was about to reach my hand down his trousers, fucking **BAM!** A FUCKING FRYING PAN!" As Gilbert pointed to the ice on his head, Francis and Antonio winced at the thought.

"And do you know who was there?" Gilbert paused, leaning forward, hands on his knees, staring intently at his friends. Francis and Antonio mirrored him.

"THAT. BITCH."

Antonio gasped in horror almost comically. "No way, Amigo!"

"Yes way! Fucking high school ex-sweetheart bitch Eliza! Apparently, she was the one directing all of the fucking snooty chefs, and was asked to find an extra whisk hidden in the room. And little that i know, She is fucking engaged- ENGAGED to the rich, prissy Austrian!"

Antonio groaned, slumping in his chair. _"Mi Dios,_ You've got to be kidding me."

"Oh,_ Mon Dieu,_ Bad call, Gil _mon cher._" Francis shook his head, pinching the bridge of his nose chuckling. "My friend, you didn't even notice the ring?"

"The... Ring?"

Gilbert opened his mouth to come back with an insult and and a smart-ass remark, but found himself dumbfounded. Francis patiently waited for his answer. Cue instant awkward silence.

What seemed like forever, Kiku, Lovino, Ludwig, Francis, everyone- even _Matthew_ stopped what he was doing for a moment to stare at the Prussian.

Seconds later with no response, almost simultaneously the group cocked their heads to the side, eyes wide and brows curved in disbelief. _(Excluding Feliciano, he just stood there next to the Canadian, confused and mumbling 'Ve~?".)_

Gilbert- his eyes wide, and his lips pursed tightly together- he was utterly at a loss for words. He gulped and mumbled, "I thought it was supposed to be on the _OTHER_ hand, so I..."

"_MON DIEU...!"_

"This bastardo..." Lovino mumbled.

Everyone moaned.

"_Sheisse_, Gilbert!" Ludwig slammed his mug onto the table along with his book and immediately face-palmed. Feliciano jumped back from the sudden curse. Fortunately before Ludwig could start his long, agitating speech on his brother's idiocy and ignorance, Matthew shouted as loud as he possibly could that breakfast had been finished. The previous topic of Gilbert's ignorance forgotten.

Feliciano grabbed two plates and covered them both with bacon, eggs, pancakes... but one had more sausage than the other. He skipped to Ludwig, giving him a gentle kiss on the forehead and setting the plates in front of himself and his lover, who shyly thanked him. Antonio did the same, except Lovino frowned when he received a forehead kiss, even if his cheeks betrayed him as they shone brilliantly red.

Matthew made a plate for both Gilbert and Kiku, setting the steaming and hearty breakfast in front of the two on the island, a small smile on his face.

"Thank you Birdie!" Gilbert cheerfully exclaimed. Matthew gave a nod and a wide grin. However, the grin quickly went away when Gilbert winked at him. Matthew gulped.

Francis held two plates for himself and his silent Canadian, giving him a kiss on the cheek and a not-so-friendly grin to Gilbert before Matthew followed him to the table.

Matthew looked relieved to be away from the incredibly strange albino.

However before they could start eating, Kiku noticed something was a bit out-of-place. He looked around and noticed someone was missing.

"Um, where's Yao-kun?" Kiku asked.

Lovino, Antonio and Matthew looked up from their plates into Kiku's direction. After a moment the three glanced at one another, almost chattering mentally at what they should say.

"That lady Yao?" Antonio asked.

"Yao is a man, and Kiku's _fratello._" Lovino snapped, flicking Antonio on the back of the head. "Idiota."

Francis rose his head from his plate, and brushed back the golden hairs in his face. He gave Kiku a lustful smirk, causing the asian to feel slightly uncomfortable.

"_Oh,_ that Yao. The last person I had expected," Francis sighed chuckling, "He decided to leave the banquet early to rendezvous with a certain... sexy, rich Russian." He chuckled as he received a half-hearted smack on the chest from Matthew.

Kiku didn't ask anything further.

Everyone's chatter ceased for the delicious breakfast, no words exchanged as they stuffed themselves with fluffy eggs, savory maple-flavored bacon and sausage, and buttery pancakes. Matthew was a complete breakfast genius and was actually pretty handsome- it was a shame he wasn't noticed that often. Only in the mornings does the quiet Canadian captures anyone's attention- except for Gilbert, Alfred and Francis. They all seem to notice him fine.

Kiku ate his breakfast slowly, greatly decreasing the pain of his migraine-from-hell he caught from last night. However, he hadn't touched his pancakes- but Gilbert greedily snatched them from his plate before Kiku could even ask if he had wanted them. That ger- sorry, _Prussian_- goes completely nuts over Matthew's pancakes, drowning them in maple syrup and devouring them gluttonously with a devilish smirk. He looked like a barbarian, getting maple syrup and butter splattered all over his mouth and clothes. Kiku sipped his milk, avoiding making eye contact at Gilbert's feeding frenzy.

It's hard to eat next to Gil in the morning...

...

Alfred tossed himself over, laying on his left side, reaching outwards to cuddle a certain Canadian- But much to his surprise, nothing but air met his fingertips. Instead, a flood of bright morning sunlight flooded into his tired eyes, and his head pounded- almost like a wave- from the the back of his head to the front. It was like a pulsing, sharp pain was acting as a pinball within his skull. He winced back, hissing a curse _"SUNNUVA' BIETCH...!"_ and rolled onto his right, away from the blinding light. He groaned, the pain anything but calming. It was excruciating, causing Alfred to grit and grind his teeth tightly, trying to focus on something other than this god-awful pain. He groped for his glasses on the bedside, fumbling with them before placing them carefully over his ears and on the bridge of his nose, and found a small medicine bottle and a small glass of water next to where his lenses once lied.

Said medicine bottle was Ibuprofen. Along with a post-it saying,

**_ "You were incredibly drunk, then slammed your face on the bar counter. Before that, you were rambling nonsense about Kiku, Arthur, and something about an alpaca torturing you. I assumed the 'flaming alpaca' was the Polish bartender screaming at you to stop dancing on the counter. "_**

Alfred flipped the note around, only to find the rant continued on the other side,

**_"You kept waking up throughout the night, puking your brains out, and fell on the sleep in the restroom multiple times. I left this medicine for you for when you wake up. You're a pain in the ass, but I hope you don't feel too bad, brother."_**

Alfred also noted the angry bear face in the bottom corner of the post-it, with a speech bubble reading _"HOSER."_

Alfred chuckled. Sure, even though his head hurt like a bitch, and he probably had a horrible time last night; he still had that warm, giddy feeling when his brother actually worries about him. Alfred also can't help but feel guilty about not being exactly the _greatest_ brother in the world like he claims oh-so-often. But all in all, he really loves his little bro, even though Matthew gets embarrassed over the little things and his french boyfriend gives him the creeps, sticks his nose into Alfred's sex and love life, which doesn't seem all that interesting these days.

After taking the amount of medicine prescribed by the bottle instructions, Alfred made his way to a small bathroom attached to his and Matthew's own. As far as he could tell, with the extremely high ceilings, the weird (and ever-so-slightly dusty) furniture, and the freakishly clean white walls, sheets and floor- Alfred must be in a pretty nice place. All Alfred knew is that he was staying in a nice house of a person he had once known. Francis didn't say any more. And frankly, Alfred didn't care. I mean, what would it matter? _"It won't keep me from being the heroic me."_

He looked at his unfamiliar reflection in the clean medicine cabinet mirror. Unfamiliar, because instead of seeing his extremely handsome and heroic self, he saw a hung-over blonde with droopy dark eyes, chaotic messed up hair (even for just waking up), with dried drool down the side of his mouth and a large bandage on his face. Alfred had to admit- he felt and looked like shit. and that was an understatement.

He started the hot water in the corner shower, taking note of the door on the other side of the restroom, opposite of the door he entered. Out of boredom and curiosity, Alfred twisted the handle and opened it. And, much to his surprise, this was a Jack-and-Jill restroom. The door opened to yet another room, except the bed was slightly messed up and he found a black suitcase in the corner. Alfred's question of, "Who's room is this?" was supposedly answered by the key chain hanging onto the zipper. A small Hello Kitty key chain. Crap, was this Yao's room?

Alfred sighed, closed the door behind him and immediately got undressed and hopped into the shower, scalding hot water pouring against him. Alfred adjusted the knob to a setting cool enough to not to give himself a third degree burn.

Alfred just stood there, letting the memories of last night slowly flow back into him one by one and piece together. As soon as Kiku slid off of his lap at the banquet's bar, Alfred's heart sank. He forced the poor guy into drinking something he didn't want to, and Alfred fucked up his chance at getting close to him again. Alfred immediately asked for another full glass of whiskey. And another. And yet another.

...

So now Alfred was nice and boozed up for now, he felt himself in a trance. In a giddy, happy, foolish trance. Before he knew it, his body ascended a good five or more feet upwards, and flail wildly upon the dark shining wood of the bar, his palms fisting and his hips swaying, his feet kicking wildly. Many people nearby did nothing to help the situation and instead, cheered him on, dancing along with him below.

The polish bartender, Feliks, noticed this and ceased his flirting with a Lithuanian to calm and persuade this stupid drunk American off the bar. Matthew and Francis noticed this, along with Antonio and dashed their way to Alfred.

Eventually, the three had enough- Antonio stepped onto the bat with him, hoisted Alfred over his shoulder (as the Spaniard huffed and noticed the severe heavy load Alfred was), and carefully hopped down from the counter, and placing the American back onto his original stool. Matthew told the Frenchman and the Spaniard that he could take care of his wasted brother from there on.

"The hell?"

Matthew pried the empty glass from Alfred's sweaty hand, buttoned off his brother's military shirt and lifted the cap off his head.

"Jeez, Alfred, What the hell was that about?"

"The damn Alpaca!" Alfred slurred, "It's trying to torture me, and keep me from being meeeeee~"

"Aaaalright..." Matthew mumbled. "Why are you drinking so much? Did something happen? You never drink more than a couple glasses."

"Kiku, I..." Alfred paused and looked over towards the crowd at the dance floor as the music shifted to something more lighthearted.

The song started quietly- jazzy, carnival-like, with lower quality. Like it was from an old movie, maybe. Then a beat later, a rhythm thumped through the large room, making everybody start dancing again, hopping to the beat.

Then, quiet voice speaking yet, another foreign language sang. It sounded strange, almost inhuman, but had this ability to it, causing you to listen to it longer. Alfred could not remember for the life of him what language this was, only that one of his friends spoke it. However, it didn't bother him much compared to what he saw now.

Kiku and Arthur had sat down at a vacant table, tired from their previous dancing. They talked for a moment, smiles fresh on their faces Kiku listened to the music and would say something, and this repeated a few times until the song had finally finished. Arthur stared that the Japanese man the whole time, gazing dreamily, smiling.

Alfred watched from a distance. Kiku was having such a good time with Alfred's ex-BFF and it was pissing him off. Doesn't Kiku realize that Arthur was a bore? That he was bi-polar and absolutely stubborn?

Alfred recalled the time when he was in the school library, complimenting Arthur on his magnificent ability to write magical stories. Alfred found Arthur's laptop sitting isolated on a table. Alfred leaned over, read it, said to him that it was beautiful and awesome, but Arthur just got red brushed him off.

"Whatever. You're probably just saying that to make me feel better". Alfred tried his best to convince him otherwise, but the Brit just called him a "git" and escaped to his class, laptop in tow.

Another memory came to mind. The time when Alfred had left his friend, Arthur to go back to America after they had graduated together. Alfred assumed Arthur wouldn't care, like he said to him more-than enough times. That if he'd left, he wouldn't give a damn and that he could do completely fine by himself. So Alfred did. He left, enrolled in an American art school, and became a well-paid cartoonist for a New York newspaper and living in an average apartment while Arthur became a best-selling Author, and script writer, and costume designer. Arthur became rich and successful and got with some retired French model-slash-fashion designer, and that was the last Alfred ever heard from him.

Alfred had met Kiku in a nearby Barnes & Noble, in the Manga section, which happens to be right next to the comics section, where Alfred was hanging around. Kiku had said something about "never knowing a manga he loved was translated into English", and caught Alfred's attention. Before he knew it, Alfred was talking to this interesting Asian, learning more about manga and the Japanese man himself. They quickly became friends, and learned that Kiku was vacationing in America for a month or two. Alfred decided to show him around New York. They exchanged numbers and websites, but Alfred found that, despite his brave and heroic self, he could not gather up the courage to ever talk to the talented Asian again. He had gained a stupid, one-time crush for a man across the ocean. And Alfred wasn't even sure he was gay! He had many girlfriends whom he had loved before, causing him to be very confused.

Alfred was torn from his reminiscing by a sudden action. His eyes bulged wide, and he jaw had completely dropped.

Arthur leaned in, and Kiku mirrored him. They kissed gently, once twice... then...

Alfred could not think correctly. He just couldn't. He tried to look away but he unable to. But every second that had passed by, it killed him. Kiku was kissing Arthur back, when it could have been him. Damn whiskey. Damn Him. Damn, _Damn, **Damn!**_

They pulled away slowly and sat, embarrassed. Kiku face was completely red- he was incredibly cute.

Alfred decided to do something. Something that would end up with Kiku in his arms. Something that would keep him from falling for the stubborn and unforgiving British prick. So he did. Or tried, at least.

Alfred shot off the stool, staggered- Just now noticing his little brother next to him, and noticing how the world around him turned sideways.

Black.

...

Alfred realized he had stood in the shower for a little longer than the average person normally would. Before the water had gotten a bit too cold, he rushed to scrub and rinse himself off and hopped out of the shower.

...

Arthur sat in the sun room, sipping impatiently on a cup of tea. He gripped his pen tightly in one hand, the other brushing through his blonde locks. He exhaled irritably as his hangover was keeping his creative ideas from flowing through his mind, distracting him from writing the plot for this play he had to magically create within a week. All to impress a man Arthur had begun to fancy. It's bloody ridiculous, that's what! And for Christ's sake, he has to stop thinking about last night. How much fun he'd had. How he may have fell for a cute, beautiful Japanese man. How he had kissed him. How wonderful it felt. How-

_Damn it, again! I'm thinking about it again!_

He sighed again, leaning back on the white chair, gazing at the green and white room before him. The plants still were a hearty, brilliant deep green despite what the season had done outside this massive house. The large back lawn had morphed to yellow and brown, and the brown, yellow, red and orange leaves were fluttering down like small colorful monarchs.

_Monarchs, monarchs._.. Good symbolism. Small, beautiful creatures who bravely travel across many lands. Arthur jot that down in his notepad.

No matter how hard he thought and how long he sat in this sun room, not one idea had sprung in his head. He kept being distracted by what had happened the night before. He can't bring himself to pack up and head to his office on the third floor, fearing he may cross paths with Kiku on the way and have no idea what to do or say. He was afraid his gentlemanly courage he had last night would run out on him, and he would accidentally act cold and rude towards the poor boy, like he did when he was... in love with Alfred. He couldn't risk making a stupid, childish mistake again, for it deeply stabbed him in the heart the first time. By a man who never even thought of him in any way passed, "Best Friends fo' ev's, yo."

Arthur shook his head. He was not going to even dare think about the American now. He took his notepad and pen, and set it on the silver tray along with his cup of tea and his old-style teapot, and rushed out of the slowly darkening sun room as dark clouds had gathered nearby.

...

After the delicious (but probably unhealthy) breakfast and Gilbert's amazing display of his lighting-fast consumption of syrup-drenched pancakes, Kiku decided to roam around the house again. Feliciano insisted to go with him until Ludwig persuaded him into helping him clean their room instead, like he had wanted to earlier that morning.

So here he was, in this beautiful sun room. Kiku had followed the now faint scent of tea and it had led him here. The plants inside the room were incredibly well cared for, and the all-white furniture gave a refreshing atmosphere. Outside was cold and cloudy, the Autumn here in England fading into Winter faster than it usually would. The few leaves left on the trees now fluttering down from the sky. Kiku was shocked by the immensity of the backyard. The end was about ten or so acres away, lined beautifully with bare trees before leading into a thick wood of green pine trees. The center of the yard stood a large fountain with statues of what looked like fairies and mermaids from what Kiku could tell from a distance. Four benches surrounded it along with a single flower bed behind each bench. Two greenhouses stood at the far corners of the yard, along with a single tool shed attached at the back of them.

Kiku only wished he was able to see this yard in the spring or summertime. It must be beautiful.

Kiku had decided to move on when it had started raining and fog clouded the windows. He exited the room, tip-toed down the hall, and decided to look around upstairs again. He climbed the stairs, taking note on a picture hung on the wall he hadn't noticed before. It was a painting of an incredibly young man. He looked familiar, and decided he would ask the owner of the house about it later. Kiku moved on.

Kiku reached the hallway he had originally started out in. He found his own room- second-to-last on the right. He opened the door to find his bed still a mess. Kiku quickly made it, and noticed an unfamiliar sound echo from the other side of a door to the left. He walked over, and noticed the sound of water running. Kiku opened the door, feeling hot steam drift into his bedroom. The restroom was a Jack-and-Jill style, Kiku had found, taking note of the restroom on the other side. The mirror was completely fogged with steam. Then Kiku found a pair of Superman boxers.

Kiku doesn't recall ever slamming a door as quick as he did before.

As if it made anything better, he quickly shuffled out of his room as well, trying to make as big strides as he could in his yukata.

"_Ai ya_..."

"Huh?" Kiku looked down the hall to find his brother, Wang Yao, stumbling down the hallway. His hair was free and in knots, and he was wearing the same Chinese garb as he did last night, except they were wrinkled and he wore a long, faded pink scarf around his neck and a very oversized coat.

"Brother?" Kiku gasped, " Where have you been?"

"Ahhh, Kiku!" Yao growled, "I've had enough questions and crap with the rest of those hooligans downstairs, and i don't need any from you, too, aru!"

Yao winced, squinted and ran his hand through his hair. He must have a migrane, too.

"It is unlike you to go sleeping around, Onii-san." Kiku glared, crossing his arms. "And you only say '_aru'_ when you are in a bad mood."

"No i do not, aru!" Yao snapped.

"Damn, i mean i do not." "I'm just in pain. And... I'm just really embarrassed and tired, alright?"

"You can always talk to me about it if you like." Kiku insisted with a glint in his eyes, "I won't judge you about your rendezvous with a sexy rich Russian man!"

Much to Yao's surprise, Kiku was dead serious when he said that.

"Um, Whatever. Maybe later, Brother. But where's my room?"

"I'm guessing right here, next to mine."

Yao nodded. "Thank you." He stepped by, with his lips as tight as lines on his face. Kiku bowed and walked down the opposite end of the hallway.

"...Aru. _Damn_."

* * *

**I really doubt this story is going to end at 8 chapters. More like 10-20 or more. *head-desk* **

**Spamano, Franada, and Gerita were having a good, cheesy, lovey-dovey time while Alfred was getting drunk in guilt, AsaKiku was kick-starting, and Gilbert was trying to get some while Yao _WAS_ getting some by a "sexy, rich Russian." *wink-wink, nudge-nudge* I am incredibly jealous of the Asian bros and their luck with handsome rich men! *_laughs_***

**Thank you so much guys, and i hope you enjoyed this chapter! (I really do, i worked my ass off on this and it took FOREVER...) Feel free to review, give me ideas, and help me improve! The more the reviews, the more I'm encouraged to write!**

**(1) Rammestein - Rammestein is a popular German metal band. I'm a fan myself! I like their song "_Du Hast_" and "_Ich Will_". One of my friend's favorate is "_Amerika_".**

**(2) Barnes & Noble - Who DOESN'T know what this store is? You'd be surprised! Barnes & Noble is an incredibly popular bookstore. In some B&N stores, they don't have their own manga section or are located in different isles. In my B&N store, the manga section is located conveniently next to a Comics, Romance, Fantasy, and Fiction section- which is absolutely perfect for me. **


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